His Last Request
by demoNiko
Summary: Sasuke has finally returned... Kakashi and Sakura need to look after him due to his blood loss. They get assigned in a mission along with Naruto and leave him in the hands of Ino and Shino. What happens in the mission? WARNING: NejixIno, KakashixSakura.
1. It Must Be a Special Day

* * *

HEY! This is my first fan fiction. I've made many but uhhh... This has the most sense so please... Enjoy (hopefully!).

Disclaimer: **I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ANY OF IT'S CHARACTERS**. Emphasis on the '**NOT**'. Though I wish I did... Masashi Kishimoto is a GENIUS, I TELL YOU! GENIUS!!!

* * *

**His Last Request**

Chapter One - It Must be a Special Day

A law... Against teachers having intimate feelings for students. perhaps they could make an exception? It IS Tsunade. She won't ever make an exception-even if for her own apprentice.

It was Sunday when Kakashi decided to drop by the 3rd Training Ground. Reading his perverted novel, he walked around town with one hand holding the book and the other stuffed in his pocket. A few moments later, he had found himself sitting under a tree in his target area. He closed his novel and put it in his pouch.

'This brings back memories...' he thought to himself.

"It's rare for someone like you to be found in these parts, Kakashi-sensei." a female voice had come out from behind him.

He slightly turned his head and tried to see who it was. From the corner of his eye, he could see the pink haired kunoichi standing behind him holding a thick red book.

"And I hardly ever see you wandering around here, Sakura." He walked towards the 16-year-old girl in his calm and collected aura.

"I-I had to do a research on medical herbs... To see if some of them could cure Kiba's wound..."

"I heard about that. The mission was a success though right? And by the way, today's a Sunday. For all I know, Tsunade doesn't have you working on Sundays. And the book you're holding is red. Every shinobi knows that thick red books are for blood studies. The green ones are for plants, herbs and other junk like that. Don't tell me you're going color-blind, Haruno."

Kakashi calling her by her last name was very rare.

"Yes, the mission was a success. I must've gotten the wrong book. I was in a hurry."

"What's the rush? It IS a Sunday morning."

Sakura thought that Kakashi was doubting her, but little did she know, he was just trying to mess with her today. The silver-haired ninja was smirking under his mask, ready to laugh at her former student. But he couldn't. She might punch her like what she did to Naruto when he accidentally picked up her dry cleaning in the laundry shop.

"Okay fine! I was looking for Sasuke-kun. After the battle with Itachi, he HAS lost a pretty huge amount of blood and I just needed to talk to him. You know, ask if he feels drowzy, moody-"

"Sasuke is always moody." Kakashi didn't really expect Sakura to tell him the truth but he figured, since she had told him, why not ask everything about it? "And besides, I thought you weren't IN to Uchiha's anymore?"

"I'm just worried. I'm not IN to him anymore... He's... A bit too brutal."

"Says the lady who killed Sasori of the Sand."

Another rare event was when Kakashi calls her a 'lady'. He would usually address her as a 'girl' but this time, it was different. Even Kakashi was startled deep inside when he had called his student a 'lady'. It was a little awkward but not too awkward. She never really thought about it... But he did have a point. Why would she call Sasuke brutal? She's the one who packs a punch.

"I better go. Sasuke might be in the dango shop or maybe at Ichiraku's.. Or-" she started walking away but she continued talking to herself, trying to figure out where Sasuke could be on a Sunday morning.

"Sakura!" Kakashi raised his hand, though pointless, just to call her. She turned around with a face of curiosity planted on her face.

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei?"

'Adding the suffix again? She knows I'm not her teacher anymore...' he thought to himself.

"You're looking in the wrong places. First, Sasuke doesn't like sweets. Second, Sasuke still gets annoyed when Naruto's around. How do you expect him to be where Naruto can always be found?"

Sakura looked at her book, deep in thought. Where could he be? He wasn't at his apartment. He wasn't at the soup kitchen nor the Hokage's Mansion. Where else could he be?

"Then... Where do you think he is?" she faced the 28-year-old ninja behind her.

Kakashi shrugged his shoulders and pulled out his book once he had restored his normal posture. He walked towards the tree behind Sakura and sat under it with his face hiding behind his erotic novel. Sakura couldn't understand her ex-sensei. He knows Sasuke more than she does. And God how she was terrified to admit that to herself as a former fangirl of Uchiha Sasuke. But, how come he doesn't know where Sasuke is?

"People change, Sakura." he said. Sakura's eyes widened. It was like he had read her mind. She went back to town in search for the surviving Uchiha.

'Maybe he's in the hospital...' she thought to herself. She hurried immmidiately to the hospital. She looked for Mayumi, the girl in the reception. She had found her organizing files at another nurse's station.

"Mayumi-san!"

"Sakura-san. What are you doing here? Today's Sunday."

"Did Sasuke-kun come here today?"

"Sasuke... Sasuke..." she tapped her chin with her index finger while looking at her upper right.

"Sasuke Uchiha. Black hair, blue shirt? A big bandage on his right leg?" Yes, a bandage on his right leg. Itachi had cut it open and he had lost a huge amount of blood.

"Ahh, yes. He's in room 131."

"131? Isn't that where Inuzuka Kiba is confined?" she scratched her head in confusion. What would Sasuke be doing in Kiba's room?

"Yes. They were here to visit him. The doctor says he'll awaken today."

"Wait... 'They'?"

"He's here with another young man. The same age as you are. Perky, hyper and a bit noisy."

"Thanks."

When Sakura had heard the word 'noisy', only one person came to mind. Naruto Uzumaki. Even though they all had grown up, he didn't change. He was still the noisy ninja he was a few years back. She walked in a normal pace, heading to room 131. She opened the door and saw Kiba lying on the bed, Naruto pacing back and forth and Sasuke sitting on a couch with his crutch beside him, resting against the wall. Yes, he couldn't feel his right leg since his battle with his older sibling, but he was satisifed that he had defeated his older brother. Why do you think he came back to Konoha?

"Sasuke-kun. What are you doing here? Didn't Tsunade-sama tell you to just rest in your apartment?"

"Well I would have stayed there if Naruto didn't drag me here today." he pointed the pacing blondie.

Sakura gave the blonde a good smack on the back of his head. So he was the reason she had been walking all over town this morning.

"Ne, Sakura-chan! That hurt..." Naruto rubbed the back of his head while he continued pacing in the room.

She rested the book on the nearest table and sat beside Sasuke. There was a short distance between them. 'People do change...' she confirmed to herself but she was sure Sasuke would frown if someone had invaded his personal space like always. She touched his forehead but he faced the other way so Sakura's hand wouldn't be in contact with his forehead.

"I'm fine, Sakura."

"You've lost a lot of blood. That's what Tsunade-sama said."

"The old lady may be correct but all I need is a little rest. No need to worry someone like you. Besides, it's your fault I'm here." Sasuke looked at her with a cold glare.

"What??"

"Naruto came by your apartment to pick you up but you weren't there so he bothered someone else. Namely, me."

"I'm so sorry. I'll take you home."

"NE SAKURA!" Naruto suddenly yelled. "WHO WILL WAIT WITH ME?!"

"No one! And keep it down. You're in a hospital, baka!"

Sakura grabbed Sasuke's wooden crutch and handed it to him. She supported him until he got to walk out of the hospital. They walked around town. While heading home, they passed by Kakashi Hatake, walking with Asuma and Kurenai. (A/N This is only fan fiction so I made Asuma live...)

"Aww, Kakashi..." The two heard Kurenai's voice from afar. "Don't those two look cute together?"

"Yeah. It's a shame that you-"

"Don't worry. I'm sure she still has feelings left for him." Kakashi cut off Asuma's sentence.

Sakura looked behind her and saw the Copy Nin reading his porn novels again. Asuma was still taking down those cancer sticks mercilessly and Kurenai was holding Asuma's other hand.

"Don't get any ideas, Sakura." she looked back at the limping ninja beside her.

"Of course not. I already told you, didn't I?"

"I know."

Soon enough, they have reached Sasuke's apartment. They saw Shizune standing in front of Sasuke's door before they could enter.

"Sasuke-kun!" she yelled in a relieved tone.

All three of them went inside his apartment. Shizune was examining Sasuke's breathing patterns, blood pressure and pulse rate every hour, trying to see if there was anything that had changed. Sakura was only waiting in the living room, standing on one area with the window in front of her. She could see the street, kids playing, civilians passing by with grocery bags in their hands. Shizune would talk to her from time to time. It was nearly noon when Shizune had talked to her again with some news.

"Sakura-san. I think Sasuke-kun will be fine. If he doesn't leave this apartment in a couple of days, he'll be normal again... Except for the current blood loss but, he's fine. The breathing patterns are normal, so is his blood pressure but the pulse keeps changing form time to time. I think it's one of the causes of his condition."

"Ohhh. About how many days will he need to rest?" she was still facing the window, waiting for the Jonin's response.

"About 2 or 3. BUt Tsunade told me someone has to guard him."

"Guard?" she turned around to take a look at the door of Sasuke's bedroom. It was slightly opened and she could see him there, lying peacefully on his bed, tucked in like a 10-year-old boy. "Why does he need guards?"

"I'm sorry, I used the wrong term. Someone just needs to look after him. He might need a nurse every once in a while. He might be short on breath or something wrong might happen because of his condition. He might eat something that his body still can't take. He needs someone to supervise him."

"Then you do it."

"I'm kinda... The attendant of Godaime-sama. I think you're the person appropriate for this job."

"But I can't tell him to not eat other things... I can't even convince him to stay here. I'm not convincing enough! How about we call on Naruto?"

"He's too noisy. Sasuke-kun won't be able to rest if he's around. Though he can talk and convince ANYONE, Sasuke-kun won't be able to sleep. Kakashi-san would be the man for the job. I even asked Tsunade-sama about it. And she agreed."

"Kakashi?"

"Yeah, he's pretty convincing and he's silent whenever he sticks his nose around Icha Icha."

Sakura looked back at the window and thought about it. She did have a point. Plus, if Kakashi's around, it's be more relaxing than having the noisiest ninja in Konoha. Kakashi can be fun once in a while but he remains silent. Sakura knew she would get bored around him but did she have a choice? She considered borrowing one of his novels but she wouldn't want herself contaminated by Jiraiya's perverted writings.

"But what if we get summoned on a mission? Who's going to watch him?"

"I've made other options and considered Ino and Shino. Ino is a medic. Not as high as you but she'll do. And Shino is silent. He is much more persuasive than Sasuke is."

"Yeah, but Sasuke will hardly rest with her around. She's a crazed fan girl, for crying out loud!" she stated while twirling her finger beside her ear.

"You still don't know about Ino and Neji?"

"Are they-?"

Yes, Ino and Neji have dated. (A/N: I am an Ino-Neji fan. Sorry for those Shika-Ino, Chou-Ino, Neji-Hina and Neji-Ten fans out there.)

"Well, yes. It's all over town since last week."

Was she the only one who didn't know? She nodded to confirm that she had accepted the offer. Shizune smiled at her and they walked out of Sasuke's apartment.

"You and Kakashi can start tomorrow. Godaime's pretty busy with oraganizing missions. I'll tell her to try her best and leave both of you out of the list of ninjas available."

"Thank you."

Shizune had left and she was still standing in front of Sasuke's apartment. She couldn't possibly be spending two whole nights with her former sensei here. She couldn't imagine Kakashi in a nurse's uniform, considering he hated the hospital. She giggled on her own, picturing what he would look like in white clothing. And instead of his blue mask that comes with his suit, he would be wearing a surgical mask to hide his face.

"Ne, Sakura-chan!"

She turned around and saw an orange-jumpsuit wearing guy waving with a big smile painted on his face.

"Naruto?"

"Kiba has awakened already! Everyone's going to his room! You wanna come with?"

"Sure."

They both walked to the hospital and when they got there, Kiba's room was filled with chuunins and one jonin that was Kurenai. She had to check on her former student, too.

"Kiba!" she was standing beside his bed. "How are you feeling? How's the cut?"

"I feel better than before but the cut hurts a little." he rubbed the bandage on the left side of his chest.

"At least you're alright. Well, I just wanted to check up on you."

"You want something to eat, there's food over there." he pointed at the table accross his bed.

"Thanks."

Sakura went towards the table Kiba had pointed earlier and grabbed a sandwich. She sat on the couch Sasuke was sitting on this morning and started to munch on the snack she had taken from the table. Naruto sat beside her but he was busy talking to Shikamaru to notice that Sakura was snacking. It was night when the party had to end. Sakura and Naruto were the last persons to leave Kiba's room. Naruto went on ahead since Sakura had to check up if Mayumi was still around. She decided to take a little exercise so she took the stairs.

The halls were deserted and it was cold. She could here the noise from the first floor since there were a few nurses working off their night shifts but she was on the third floor. She walked through the empty hallways. She was already on the second floor when she had seen Kakashi sitting by the stairs, reading, not his erotic series but medical records.

"This is... What happened to the world?"

Kakashi turned around and saw Sakura. He stood up immidiately. He didn't really expect her to take the stairs just like her not expecting to see him in one of the places he despised the most. She normally uses the elevator, especially when she's only visiting. She would only take the stairs if she had a shift. She liked exercising herself here if she couldn't go outside. Of course, she would HAVE to take the elevator if there was an emergency.

"Today is... Well, there must be something special today bu-" he sat once again but he was looking at the kunoichi who had startled him.

"I never thought I'd see you in the hospital. What are you doing here?" she sat beside her former sensei.

"Shizune told me that we were going to nurse Sasuke." he focused on the medical records once again.

"Yeah... Sorry but I couldn't possibly find another person who was convincing enough. Shizune could've done it but she said it herself... She's Tsunade-sama's attendant. And may-"

"It's fine," he said with a calm and cool voice, cutting of her sentence. "I wouldn't have anything to do at home either."

Sakura smiled at him and stood up. She continued walking down the stairs again. He was left there, alone with the medical records. He closed the folder and stared at the cover. In Japanese writing, Sasuke's name was written on the cover of the records. He couldn't concentrate since Sakura had arrived. Wait... Why couldn't he concentrate when Sakura arrived?

He erased the thought and stood up. It was about time he gave the records back to Mayumi and went home. He had been examining the same folder for over 2 and a half hours. He wasn't really interested the first time but he HAD to do it. Shizune told him that he had to get some information if he was going to help out. He went downstairs and looked for Mayumi but she wasn't there anymore. He saw a blonde girl walking with books and papers piling over her head.

"Ino!"

The blonde turned around. It was Ino after all. She was having a hard time facing the Copy Nin with the stack of books and papers in her hands.

"Kakashi-san. I hardly ever see you around here. In fact this is the first time."

"There must be something unusual that's why I'm here..." he scratched the back of his head as he looked at his feet. "Did you see where Mayumi-chan go?"

"Sakura picked her up. I think they had plans for today in the Bar Code."

'Bar Code? Isn't that the teen's night club near Naruto's apartment?' he thought to himself. He looked at the medical records.

"Sasuke-kun's papers. What are you doing with those?"

"I had to look over something. I was going to give it to Mayumi-chan but since she left I'll just go-"

"Leave it to me. Put it on top."

Kakashi couldn't. She was already carrying a truckload, ang he would be a burden if he would let her do his task.

"Nah. I'll just give it to Akari."

"Oh. Okay. She's at the reception. Bye!"

The blonde walked down the hallway and Kakashi looked for the reception. When she had seen the lady, he gave the medical records and asked her to put it back. After that, he went straight to the Bar Code. He saw the bouncer with a list of names on a clipboard.

"Excuse me, sir." he tapped the bouncer's right arm.

"Kakashi-san! How are you?"

"I'm fine, Arashi."

"What can I do for you?"

"Did a pink-haired girl enter here?"

"Haruno Sakura. Yes. She's with Honda Mayumi. Very nice girls. Look for the pink-haired girl in black clothes inside."

He had imagined what Sakura would look like in black clothes but all he could think of were the clothes she wore when Sandaime had died. He giggled to himself and pulled out his smutty novel and continued reading. Music was everywhere and loud but that didn't stop him from concentrating. He'd look for Sakura after he had finished reading this chapter of the book. While walking, he bumped to a girl. He knew that smell of the hair. Cherry Blossom with a hint of vanilla. It was none other than Sakura whom he had bumped into.

"Kakashi-sen-"

"Oii, Sakura. What are you doing here? We have to go to Sasuke's tomorrow." he said out loud, trying to make his voice stand out from the loud music.

"I just dropped off Mayumi and..." she looked at the direction of where she had left Mayumi and she was still there, dancing with a brunette. "Wait... What are you doing here?" she stuck the tip of the index finger on Kakashi's vest.

"I was reading and didn't notice I was here already."

Sakura rolled her eyes and pulled Kakashi out of the club by his hand. They were in the alley near the club but it was dark.

"Why did you drag me here? I can't read my Icha Icha." he closed his book with a snap and put it back in his pouch along with his kunais and shurikens.

"Come on, Kakashi. What were you doing there?"

"I already told you I-"

"Nice try but the bouncer doesn't let ANYBODY in unless they're teenagers. How the heck did you get in there?" she crossed her arms against her chest.

"Well, I knew the bouncer. I asked if you were in there... And he said yes."

"And WHY were you looking for ME? Emphasis on the 'WHY' and the 'ME'!"

"Well, you weren't in your apartment. I was gonna ask if you were ready for tomorrow." he shrugged his shoulders. That's right. He may be a genius found in the bingo book but not anyone can avoid lying. The Famous Copy Ninja, Kakashi Hatake, was lying.

"Well, I'm packed for tomorrow. We'll be spending two nights in Sasuke's living room. Are you set?"

"Yes. Now get some rest."

"Kakashi..." she didn't add the suffix this time. Which made Kakashi wonder what had happened to the 'sensei'. "You know very well I'm not your student anymore." she tapped his forehead protector lightly a few times. So that's what happened... She left out the suffix on purpose so she could clearly state that he was no longer her teacher.

"Sakura.... I know but Shizune DID tell me that I was the one in charge."

"You always are."

Kakashi thought Sakura didn't grow up. That she was still the immature girl she was a few years ago. But he, too, knew it was a bit unfair.

"Hey, I'm just following orders, Sakura."

He started to walk away with both hands in his pockets. Sakura was still standing where he had left her. 'This is sooooo unfair!' she thought to herself. While it was true that it was unfair, she knew that she wasn't ready to lead someone like Kakashi. She just wanted one time where she could try out being the one in charge around him. She gave out a deep sigh and followed Kakashi since he wasn't far away. They were both silent while walking. Not a soul seemed to give out a word. They were already inside an apartment when Kakashi decided to talk.

"Why are you following me?"

"I wasn't following you." she sat on the leather couch behind her and removed her sandals. "This is my apartment, baka."

The silver-haired ninja looked at his surroundings. It was filled with frames with pictures of Sakura and Ino and other more students when they were still in the Academy. Amused to realize that he had made his way here, he couldn't help but feel ridiculous. He accused her of following him when clearly, he was the one following her. He headed for the door and opened it.

"Goodnight, Sakura."

"Same to you, Kakashi-sensei."

He closed the door behind him. He needed this night to rest. A lot of things have happened around town since Sasuke came back. He has visited the hospital a couple of times due to fainting at random times. Perhaps because he had lost too much blood. The young Uchiha even got his former sensei worried when he had fainted while training. But, hey. It wasn't Kakashi's fault Sasuke insisted on training.

His house was a bit far from here so he might as well walk without stopping until he reaches his residence. Rain suddenly poured down from the heavens. 'Oh God, not now...' No matter how much he had pleaded the heavens to stop shedding tears over the streets, he couldn't bring them to stop.

Meanwhile, Sakura was having a little snack back at her apartment. She munched on the chocolate bar she had grabbed from the fridge earlier while looking out the window. It was dark and the only thing illuminating the streets were the dim lamp posts on the corners of each block. She had noticed that everytime she would breathe out, rain would pour harder. She knew Kakashi still had a long way to walk to get home, but what could she do? It was too late to tell him to go back. She had already lost sight of him in the streets. If she knew rain was going to arrive, she would've asked her former sensei to spend the night in her apartment. She would offer him to sleep in the living room, on the leather couch she was sitting on while she snuggled around her small bed. And honestly, she found the leather couch much more relaxing than her own bed.

She throwed the wrapper of the chocolate bar and got in her pajamas. She headed straight to the bathroom to brush her teeth. After that, she went back to her bed room and grabbed her pillow and blanket. She decided to sleep on the couch tonight. She turned out all the lights in her apartment and turned on the TV. There were news stories about the Hokage's current plans, the chuunin exams to be held next month and other more. She was feeling sleepy since there was nothing on.

"Sasuke Uchiha's return to Konoha..." her eyes suddenly snapped. She maximized the volume a little to listen to the news. "The only living Uchiha in Konoha. The word around town is this young boy has assassinated his older brother, Uchiha Itachi, and that is the reason behind his return. Though he may seem strong, the hospital says he needs to be confined on a bed for quite some time to recover his normal state."

'Are they still not over Sasuke's arrival?' she asked the TV reporter within her imagination. Before she knew it, she was sound asleep. Yup, it must have been a special day.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox END OF CHAPTER xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

* * *

What did you think? Too much drama? Nah... I like keeping it that way. R&R. Be gentle but honest. Gentle **AND** honest. I think you know what I mean. This is my first fan fic EVER. Thanks for reading!

In the next chapter, looks like Sakura is going to have a little trouble with this... *ahem* "MISSION".


	2. On the Double

THANK YOU SO MUCH! Haha! Guys, once again...

**I DON'T OWN NARUTO SERIES OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS.**

**MASASHI KISHIMOTO OWNS NARUTO.**

* * *

Chapter 2 - On the Double

'Where is he?' Sakura looked at her watch as she waited for Hatake Kakashi to arrive at the bridge. The sun was almost up. It was a least 5:45 now. They agreed they would meet at 5:30. She was getting impatient. 'If he doesn't arrive in 5 minutes, I swear, I'm leaving him.' she paced back ang forth, her thumbs clinging onto the straps of her back pack.

With a poof of smoke, the Copy Nin appeared behind her. He was, once again, late. And in addition, it looks like he enjoyed reading his smutty novel while he had arrived. She cleared her throat and grabbed the book.

"Sakura..."

"Kakashi-sensei... You may be in charge today but I know what's best."

"You're not my mom, are you?"

He grabbed his book back and continued reading. 'He is SO hopeless...' Sakura thought to herself. She rolled her eyes and walked towards the direction of Sasuke's apartment. Kakashi followed. He was a few meters behind her but she knew he'd catch up. They even ran into Naruto with Hinata and Kiba.

"Huh? Kiba, the hospital already let you in the open?"

"Yeah!" Naruto shouted. "They said it was better if he had exercised his legs a little!"

Sakura gave him a smack on the head.

"I WASN'T TALKING TO YOU, TEME!"

Later on, she had realized that Kakashi was already behind her. He looked at him and was amused to see him not sticking his nose in his Icha Icha series. He put up a hand and creased his eye.

"Yo, Naruto, Kiba, Hinata."

All three wandering shinobis smiled at the silver-haired smut-reading ninja.

"Well, we better get going. We're picking up Akamaru from his check up." Kiba stated excitedly. He had missed his friend. They've been apart ever since Kiba got confined in the hospital.

The pink haired kunoichi's smile had faded away when Kakashi looked back at her. She continued walking towards Sasuke's apartment. Once they had reached his unit, she knocked. They had to wait a few seconds before anyone could have opened the door.

"Sasuke-kun. How are you feeling?"

"Better than Kakashi..." he turned around and headed for the couch. There was popcorn on his coffee table and a few sandwiches. The remote was placed on the couch.

'I guess he spent this morning acting like a big couch potato.' Kakashi's thoughts had echoed through his head as he entered the Uchiha's unit. He closed the door and sat on the carpet. He rubbed the temples of his forehead, due to the extreme pain it was causing.

"Kakashi, stand up." Sakura tapped his shoulder.

"I told you I felt better." Sasuke scoffed and grabbed the remote. He changed from channel to channel, hoping there was at least one decent show for him.

Sakura touched Kakashi's forehead. And when she felt the extremely warm skin, she had shouted.

"You have a high fever!"

Sasuke ignored his guests and kept on switching the channels. Sakura was in her panic mode. She had never taken care of her sensei before.

"If you need me, I'll be in my room, taking a nap." the resident stood up and headed for his bedroom door. 'And he didn't even turn off the television!' Sakura thought.

Sakura helped Kakashi up so he could make it to the couch. He was sleeping soundly. She went through bag and looked for a face towel. When she had spotted one, she brought it to the bathroom and cleaned it. Afterwards, she removed his hitae-ate and placed the towel on Kakashi's forehead. But how did Sasuke know that he would feel better? Walking towards Uchiha's bedroom, she was thinking about what to ask him. 'What did you do to Kakashi sensei?' is that how she should ask him? But then, she figured... No. She opened the wooden door and peeked. Sasuke was sitting on the edge of his king-sized bed.

"Sasuke-kun..."

"The blankets are over there," he said, pointing at the cabinet that was facing Sakura.

"Thanks... But... What happened to Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura closed the door behind her and headed for the cabinet Sasuke had pointed out earlier. She opened it but was still listening to Sasuke.

"Well, I saw him last night."

"And?" she grabbed a clean sheet of blanket from inside.

"It was raining."

"And?" she closed the cabinet gently.

"And he was walking outside."

"Ohhh.."

Well that explanation was enough. Kakashi never really cared what weather he was walking under. It figures that he just ignored the rain last night and concentrated on heading home. She opened the door and intended to leave Sasuke's room. But before she went out, something had struck her.

"I thought you were going to take a nap?"

"Right..." he removed the blanket from its proper arrangement and wrapped it around his body once he had lain on the bed he was sitting on. He gave out a small laugh when he looked back at Sakura.

'Now isn't that rude??!' she thought to herself. She rolled her eyes and closed his door. When she turned around, she had bumped into someone way taller than she was. Stepping back, she observed the man in front of her. Kakashi rubbed his chest, trying to ease the small pain caused by Sakura's shoulder bump. He was holding the facetowel on his forehead to prevent it from falling down. She was staring at mismatched eyes right now.

"Thanks for the blanket." he took the blanket from her hand and headed back to the couch. He wrapped the blanket around him, but he still was shaking.

"You cold?"

"It's a little chilly." Resting his back on the against the couch, he stared at the television in front of him.

Sakura couldn't believe it. She was stuck taking care of two shinobis....

It was almost lunchtime and there was nothing in Sasuke's apartment to eat. Sakura left Kakashi sitting on the couch. She asked him to guard over the boy inside the bedroom. She went to town to buy some food for her former team mates. Along the way, she didn't expect to see Tenten and Lee.

"Sakura-san!" Lee said with a big smile on his face as he looked at the cherry blossom passing by.

"Hi, Lee. Hey, Tenten."

"I haven't seen you in a while." Tenten placed her hand on her hip while giving out the sentence.

"A little busy around in the hospital."

"I heard you had a mission." the bushy browed boy looked around. "Where is Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yeah, I have a mission alright... I'm stuck babysitting two boys for the next 48 hours." she said with an immature tone.

"Come on, Sakura. It can't be that bad. Who are they?"

"Well, the other one was supposed to be for a mission... Sasuke-kun... I have to take care of him. For the next 2-3 days."

"And the other?"

"The other is an idiot who can't even use his jutsus to make an umbrella."

Both of Gai's subordinates looked at each other in confusion.

"Kakashi-sensei has a fever. And he was supposed to help me with observing Sasuke!"

"A fever? Well, that's something new!!! I've never seen Kakashi-sensei sick before."

"Come to think of it, me neither." Sakura scratched the back of her head slightly. "Oh well, there's a first time for everything."

Tenten and Lee had left. Sakura bought food at the Dango Shop for her sensei and some chicken soup and bread for her former teammate. She arrived home, exhausted from her long walk. It was hard enough to think of what food Sasuke likes, it was harder for her to avoid buying sweet food for Sasuke. She almost forgot that he despises sweet foods.

"Sakura, home so soon?"

"SOON?! I spent an hour and a half walking outside while looking for something you guys WOULD eat."

His mismatched eyes were lookin at the bags Sakura were carrying inside the kitchen. He stood up and followed after her.

"I'll take the Dango."

"What th-?!" she almost jumped out of her human flesh when Kakashi spoke. "Okay. Here." She pulled out the box of dangos and handed them over to Kakashi.

After that, she grabbed a tray from the dish rack and put Sasuke's soup and bread there. She brought out a glass and filled it with water. She went to the living room, carrying Sasuke's food. She was about to knock on Sasuke's bedroom door when she heard Kakashi mumble out the words she wanted to hear last.

"He's not there."

Sakura snapped and opened the door immidiately. The minute she saw that his room was empty, she left the tray on the coffee table Kakashi was eating on. She put her hand on her waist. She looked at Kakashi with raging anger.

"WHERE IS HE??!"

"I don't know. I just saw his window open." the Copy NIn was still staring at the TV in front of him, munching on the food Sakura had brought home.

"Why didn't you go after him??!"

"I was sick." He put down the sticks of dango and crossed his arms as he stared at the woman in front of him.

"Of all the times you can choose to become weak, YOU PICK NOW??!"

"Well, my head does hurt a little. And maybe you should ju-"

"Ugh! Kakashi-sensei! Stay here and I'll look for Sasuke-kun. And don't go eating anything else but those!"

The kunoichi ran to the outside of the apartment. The Copy Nin simply shook his head and continued his meal.

Meanwhile, Sakura was already hitting the rooftops as she looked for her other patient. She checked the hospital, the training grounds, but none... He wasn't anywhere. The sun was already about to set and still no sign of Sasuke.

Feeling that she had lost hope, she thought about it and maybe Sasuke will return in his own residence after quite sometime so she went back to his house. Reaching for the knob, the door suddenly opened.

"Yo, Sakura. Dinner's almost ready." The silver haired ninja greeted her with glee as if there wasn't anything wrong with him.

"You cook?"

He nodded, confirming that he DID cook. He let the kunoichi in and closed the door. She went straight to the kitchen and sniffed in the air.

"Is that sushi?" she asked, pointing at the table in front of her. "I didn't know you could make them." She shifted he attention from the newly cooked food to the kitchen sink. Noticing Sasuke's bowl of soup had already been placed there, she turned to Kakashi. "Sasuke arrived?"

"Yeah. It turns out he had just forgotten something somewhere. And Sakura, remember the book yesterday?" the kunoichi dipped her head. "Why didn't you give it back to Mayumi?"

"I forgot. Was he the one who gave it back?"

"Yep. Well Sakura," he reached for a plate filled with sushi and handed them to Sakura. "Since you're OUR nurse, you have to deliver these to Sasuke."

Since when was she Kakashi's nurse? Sure she was a medic on duty but not for him though. Grabbing the plate from the Copy nin's palms, she went straight to Sasuke's room. He was there, sitting on the edge of his bed as usual.

"Sasuke-kun. Where have you-"

"I'm sure Kakashi had already told you about it."

"Well, are you hungry?" she entered his room and closed the door behind him.

"Just leave it there. I'll get hungry some time later." he pointed at the table on the edge of his bed.

Sakura was about to leave when Sasuke had called him out again.

"Sakura."

"Yes?" she turned around and faced the shinobi who just had said her name.

"Kakashi... What do you think of him?" He turned his head slightly and looked at her from the corner of his eye.

"I don't know. Sometimes he can be a real idiot, a pain in the ass but... He's really-" she pulled out the rest of the sentence due to curiosity. "Wait a sec... Since when did you become interested about what I think of Kakashi-sensei."

"Just now. You can go."

She did as she was told and went outside. She saw Kakashi was already lying down on the floor while he watched TV. 'It looks like he's made himself at home.' She grabbed her bag as she went for the comfort room. She exited with her pajamas on. The lights were already of but the light of the moon illuminated some parts of the living room. Kakashi, though, was still awake, reading his Icha Icha series. The television was turned off.

"So, you finally feel comfortable." she crossed her arms and looked at the shinobi lying on the floor.

Letting go of his novel, she looked at the kunoichi in front of him. He looked at her face which was planted with curiosity.

"What? Is there something wrong with my pajamas?"

"No..." he shook his head slightly. "I've never seen you in navy blue." She saw a smirk had formed under his mask.

"Is that it? Is that why you're smiling?"

He covered his masked mouth and went back to his novel.

"Kakashi, you have a fever. You sleep on the couch."

"But-"

"Go, now." A foot of hers was already tapping due to irritation.

He did as he was told. He didn't want to make 'his' nurse mad or else he might get into trouble. She lay on the couch and observed as Sakura sat on the carpet and arranged her bag. After doing so, she tucked in and faced the direction of her ex-sensei.

"Go to sleep. You need a lot of rest."

"Can I just finish the chap-"

"Goodnight, Kakashi."

"Oh well. I guess I better go on rea-"

"I said... GOODNIGHT, KAKASHI." she emphasized the repeated words.

He released a heavy sigh and hid his novel under his pillow. He closed both eyes but he couldn't manage to sleep. No matter how he tried. He opened one eye and peeked at Sakura who was already peacefully slumbering. He opened the other eye and sat on the couch as he observed at the kunoichi. She was smiling sweetly. It was enough to make his lips smile on their own.

"Goodnight, Sakura." he whispered and laid back down. He was gently put to sleep moments later.

The next day, Tsunade summoned both Kakashi and Sakura. They left Sasuke with Shizune. Upon arriving the office of the Hokage, they noticed that there was a familiar sense of chakra inside. Kakashi opened the door and let Sakura go in first.

"Tsunade-sama. Naruto."

"Ohayo, Sakura, Kakashi-sensei!"

"Yo."

Kakashi closed the door behind him and stood beside Naruto. On the other side of Naruto was Sakura.

"Okay, listen up." Tsunade stood up from her table. "There's a valuable necklace stolen from the Hidden Grass Village. The Haru Necklace. It is said that whom ever has it will have the level of their powers maximized." (A/N: there is no such thing mentioned in the series. Since this is only fanfic, I decided to let my imagination play around.)

"So why tell us this?"

"Because the three of you will go after the culprit and bring back the necklace to the Hidden Grass Village. Without the necklace, the shinobi around Hidden Grass have less power than they had before." (A/N: Like I said, nothing like this mentioned in the series and this is only FICTION.)

* * *

Did you like this chapter? And thank you for the reviews and for subscribing and for putting me in your favorite! I am so grateful! And I'm also working on the other story called "How Will I Get Over You?".

Next Chapter: Naruto, Kakashi and Sakura head for the Hidden Grass to look for another pink-haired kunoichi on Chapter 3 - Going After Spring.

* * *


	3. Going After Spring

**Chapter 3 - Going After Spring**

"What??!!" Sakura gasped in horror. She and Kakashi should be taking care of Sasuke and not the Hidden Grass. "Shizune made sure you won't inclu-"

"Sakura, you are the one suited for this mission. You are going after a female ninja." She placed her hand on her table. "Naruto, you are needed here too. I think you are aware of your non-chakra related ability."

"To eat 4 bowls of Ramen at Ichiraku's per meal?" The blonde had scratched his chin, wondering if his guess was correct.

Sakura had smacked the idiotic moron's back of the head. Obviously, he wasn't getting the point of the meeting.

"Apparently, you don't get the point, Naruto." The Copy Nin stated. "What Tsunade means is that your skills of convincing other people for the better is needed."

"Affirmative. And Kakashi, this girl has some skills. I am not certain if you can copy them or if they're part of the bloodline, but it's worth a shot. Normally, if Sasuke wasn't in some condition, I'd be sending him instead of Kakashi."

While the other two shinobis beside Kakashi looked at him with awe, he remained calm. It was like the old lady was saying he'd reather send Sasuke instead of Kakashi. He took it up like a man and sucked it all up, not showing any signs of pain. He simply nodded at the Hokage looking at him with cruel eyes as usual.

"What do we know about this thief?" Sakura raised her hand in order to get attention.

"We do not know that. No one ever saw her with a forehead protector." She opened her drawer and pulled out a folder. "She's been here, crossing the borders a few years back - twice. I think she passed by to get from one place and return to her original destination. However, back then, still she had no forehead protector."

Sakura stepped forward. Tsuande flipped the folder open and scanned the pages. There were a lot of pictures pinned on some of the pages. As soon as the Hokage had found her target photo, she pulled it out and handed it to Sakura.

"That's her. That's the thief. Her name's Haru."

Sakura looked at the picture that was handed to her. Seeing the girl in the photo, the first thing she did was gasp. Who would have thought that she'd see another pink haired kunoichi? Her eyes were sea green and she was wearing a short green kimono which made it easier for her to move around. Her hair was longer and loose and was wavy.

"But... She looks just like me."

Hearing her say that, Naruto rushed behind her and glanced at the photo too. He couldn't believe his eyes. The girl looked just like the one in front of her. And if he didn't know better, he would think Sakura was the thief.

"Sakura... You're right. But... How could she not wear a forehead protector?"

"As I have told you, she would diguise herself as a civilian so no one would think of her as a ninja. It's that or she never attended school to graduate and receive one. Those are the theories."

"Hokage-sama, don't you think it's a little suspicious for her to travel alone. Doesn't she have any companions with her?" Kakashi stepped forward and snatched the photo from Sakura's hands so he could look at her.

"According to the report of the Hidden Grass, she had no companions when she had committed the crime. I want you to leave before sundown. We can't let her go on for another day."

"BUt Sasuke-kun is-" Sakura was just about to protest about the idea of her going along but still, Tsunade cut her off.

"Sasuke will be fine, Sakura. As long as Ino and Shino have him tied, he'll stay in his house."

She nodded. Well, obviously, Sasuke doesn't get out off his house that much. He just wants things to go his way. But still, she was worried about her former teammate. Naruto headed home while Kakashi and Sakura went to Sasuke's place. They had to get their things and pack up. When both of them entered, it was no surprise to them that Shino and Ino were already there.

"Sakura! Hey! Who said you could enter here??!"

"Ino-chan. We have some of our things in here. Did you have any trouble taking care of Sasuke-kun?"

Kakashi ignored both of the kunoichis and started packing his bags.

"No! Not at all. He ver-"

"Ino-kun." Shino entered the room. Both hands in his pockets as usual with bugs crawling on his jacket. "I cannot find Sasuke. I'll send the bugs to look for him."

Sakura crossed her arms. Ino lied. It looked like Sasuke had easily slipped off of their fingers. Ino was never any good in persuading people. She was just good as seducing the boys. But that never worked on Sasuke. Well, Shino IS pretty scary, according to SAkura. He'd use his bugs to creep the people out and persuade them.

"Soooo... Sasuke left, huh?" She smirked in order to mock the blonde kunoichi.

"Well... I-I..." She slumped. "Alright fine, Sasuke got out."

"I can't believe this..."

SAkura wlaked quickly towards the door but she felt a hand pull her upper arm. She turned around to see the Copy Nin holding her arm.

"Sakura, he's the least of our problems now. We have a new mission and it doesn't involve Sasuke."

She pulled her hand away and rushed to the door but when she opened it, Kakashi was already standing outside, holding her bag. He handed it to the pink haired kunoichi and was smiling.

"You can leave Sasuke to Ino and Shino. They can handle it." His eye creased and she noticed his lips smiling under the mask.

Well, he was right. They can handle it. She sighed and took the bag swiftly from Kakashi as they made their way through town to go to Naruto's place. People were looking at them while Kakashi was just reading his smutty novel as usual. Sakura couldn't believe he would read those things in public up to now!

They passed by a shop not knowing Asuma and Kurenai were in there. They both ran immidiately as soon as they saw Kakashi and Sakura walking together.

"Kakashi-senpai! I see you and Sakura are-"

Kakashi cut him off by placing his hand on top of Asuma's mouth. The Copy Nin bowed his head and closed his eyes as he shook his head.

"No, Asuma. We are not done with the Sasuke. We have a new mission."

Of course, he'd make Sakura think that Asuma was about to say "I see you and Sakura are done with Sasuke." He removed his hand and Asuma nodded at him. Kurenai was silent. Kakashi looked at Sakura and rubbed the back of his head.

"Sakura. You can sit over there." He pointed at the bench about a meter and a half away.

"But-"

"This'll only take a minute. DOn't worry."

Sakura had no choice but to follow what he had said. Of course, she wouldn't want to argue with him in public too. While Sakura walked to the bench, he placed his novel back in his kunai pouch. He looked at the Jonins in front of him.

"Kakashi... Doesn't Sakura know yet?" Kurenai took a step forward as she looked at him with a face of curiosity.

"I-I can't. It's against everything. Everything in this world. If people knew, I'd be walking the streets with shame by breaking the rules..."

"Kakashi-senpai. People already knew. Tsunade-sama, Jiraiya-sama. Iruka-senpai. Your students are the only ones who don't know!"

It couldn't be. He wanted to think Asuma was lying but he couldn't think of him that way. Asuma has never lied before. Not to him. Is that the reason why people were looking at them while they were walking? Is that what made Asuma think they were going out at that moment.

"No. It's better if she doesn't know. It's no use even if I tell her. I wanted to tell her last night but what's the point? She won't believe it. She knows I can't break the rules."

"Kakashi, you better tell her. It's for the best. Who knows? She might believe you and things might change."

"But I don't want anything to change. I like things the way they are right now... Normal and not awkward."

While the Jonins were talking, Sakura sat there quietly, swinging her feet just so she could enjoy herself. She felt a familiar presence from her other side. The side Kakashi wasn't on. She lifted her head so she could look at the person.

"Naruto. What are you doing here?" She stood up and faced the loud ninja.

"Well, I had nothing to eat at home and I saw you guys here. What's up with Kakashi and the others?" He pointed at the JOnins behind Sakura.

"I don't know." She turned around slightly and shrugged. "He said it'll only take a minute."

"Oh. Okay."

He continued walking towards the direction of Kakashi. He wanted to ask what was going on. Of course, the three of them were too busy talking to each other to notice that Naruto could hear their conversation so they continued.

"Kakashi-senpai. You better do it before it's too late. You're a genius in the battlefield and yet you can't find a way to tell Sakura??!" Asuma patted him on the shoulder.

"Yeah, Kakashi. That task doesn't involve any seals nor chakra. Why not tell Sakura how you feel right now?"

"Why? What's going on?" Naruto asked. Of course, he is a bit slow. He can't keep up with the coversation. What did they mean anyway?

"Naruto?" Kakashi startled. He didn't expect his ex-student to hear them. Why didn't he talk earlier? Was he listening?

Kakashi turned to face Kurenai and Asuma but all he had seen were poofs of smoke. 'Traitors' he thought to himself. What will he tell Naruto?

"Naruto. What did you hear?"

"Something about Sakura. What were you talking about, anyway?"

"Nothing. It's about this late night show and you wouldn't understand." He put his arm around Naruto as he pulled him towards Sakura. "Okay, Sakura. Where do you guys want to eat?"

Sakura looked at Naruto. She was hoping he had heard something but unfortunately, he shrugged his shoulders. Kakashi was cheerful today and both of them didn't know why. It was weird for him to ask where they wanted to eat.

"Kakashi-sensei? Is there something wrong? Are you feeling okay?"

"Of course. Let's just say I just say I'm feeling a little gleeful today. So make up your mind before I change mine."

"Ichiraku's!" As usual, Naruto's favorite- Ramen.

So all of them headed to Ichiraku's and ate the usual order. Kakashi ate his quickly before the two of them could even see his face. Sakura and Naruto were stunned on how he does that. Sakura stood up from her seat.

"I'll be right back. I think I dropped something on the way."

She went out of the shop, leaving the Copy Nin and Naruto to continue eating their meal. After Naruto had slurpped every single drop of the soup, he put his chopsticks down and turned to Kakashi who was reading his novel as usual. Kakashi looked at Naruto from the corner of his eye. HE was smiling, deviously.

"What do you want, Naruto?" He closed his novel and looked at the boy beside him.

"You like Sakura-nee-chan!" He laughed after the sentence.

His face remained calm as he opened his novel once again. He shook his head.

"No, Naruto. I do not."

"Yes you do!"

"No, I don't. Where did you get that ridiculous story?"

"Kurenai, Ino, Kiba, Hinata, Asuma, Iruka-sensei, Konohamaru..." He took an exaggerated inhale. "Lee, Sai, Shikamaru, Choji and Ero-Sennin." He put a thumbs up in front of him. "Even Hinata-chan told me. You see? Hinata."

"I see even your silent girlfriend knows."

Naruto's eyes widened and he let out a big smile.

"So you DO like her! When are you going to tell her??!" He got all giddy once Kakashi decided to admit it.

"Never." He said. He was calm and his sentence was plain and short. A brief answer for Naruto's question.

"What??! Why??!"

"Sakura is-"

"I'm baaaack!!" Sakura yelled with glee. I thought I dropped my handkerchief. It was just in my pocket. So, what did I miss?" She sat back down at her chair beside Naruto.

"Nothing."

After finishing his bowl, they headed for the front gate of Konoha. The sun was still high but not as high as earlier. Tsunade arrived after a few minutes with Tonton and Hinata. Why was Hinata there? The Hyuuga blushed when Naruto had caught her looking at him.

"Hinata-san?"

"Good afternoon, SAkura-san, Naruto-kun, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi just smiled at him while Naruto walked towards the bright red faced Hinata.

"We're going to be fine, Hinata. Okay?"

She nodded. Well, she was already bright before but when Naruto gave a small kiss on her forehead, she could faint on the spot! Of course, Sakura pulled him away before Hinata would fall on him. Kakashi faced Tsunade.

"What are you guys doing here?"

Tsunade handed a folded piece of paper to Kakashi. She winked at him. Well, he was hoping it wasn't her number.

"Don't forget her picture. You might forget what she looks like."

"Hokage-sama, we have a look alike with us."

"Still. You can tell the difference. Hinata, let's go." They both walked back into the village. Naruto and Sakura walked towards the direction of the forest. Kakashi walked slowly in order for him to take a peek at the picture. He unfolded the small paper and saw the long haired kunoichi's image. On the bottom right, there was a writing.

'Kakashi. Would you God damned tell her?! Everyone knows already! -Tsunade'

Well that was a touching letter, he thought sarcastically. He never thought even Tsunade would know. He thought Kurenai and Asuma were just pulling his leg but it was true.

The sun had already set and the moon was high. They've walked quite a distance from the village so they decided to camp out for the night. Of course, Naruto had packed in a few sandwiches as usual. They've set a campfire and all three of them sat around the hot glowing matter in front of them while eating the sandwich.

"Well, let's talk about the mission. Let's review, shall we. What do we know about this woman?"

He took out the picture Tsunade had given to him earlier. It was dark and none of them would notice the writing. He held out the picture to show it to the younger shinobis in front of him.

"Her name is Haru. All we know is that she has no forehead protector and therefore, we can't confirm if she's a ninja or a plain thief. We can't confirm if she uses jutsus or not." Sakura continued munching on her sandwich.

"And the necklace can increase the powers of the one who's possesing it. Why would a normal thief want to steal that?" Naruto stated.

"Right, Naruto. Unless... Normal thief or not, she travelled alone. We can count in the theory that she's working for somebody."

"Somebody like?" Sakura asked. Of course, the person she had in mind was Orochimaru.

"Somebody like Orochimaru or the Akatsuki. But the Akatsuki are only interested in the Nine-Tailed Beasts. They only come after Jinchuurikis like me."

"Let's get into the mind of a criminal, shall we? First, Naruto. Let's say you're the one who stole it. How would you get past a highly guarded temple to get to the necklace?"

"I don't know." He scratched his head. "I'd use my jutsus and-"

"Maybe it wasn't clear enough. If you didn't use jutsus, how would you get past around that?"

"I won't because I can't. A normal person's presence would immediately be sensed by the guards."

"Exactly." Kakashi stood up and put the picture back in his pocket. "Which narrows it down. We take away the idea that she's just a thief and put in the theory that she CAN use jutsus. All we need to find out is what kind."

"Guys, I'm really tired. I'll just get to sleep and we can get back on track tomorrow. Maybe we can reach a town and ask around about her." SAkura headed under one of the trees and closed her eyes and tried to get some sleep. She was really exhausted after walking for hours without food. Well, that sandwich she just ate was going to be the last for that day.

Kakashi headed under another tree, trying to get away from Naruto and Sakura as much as possible. Sakura might have not noticed, but whenever Kakashi was around her, he felt a little awkward. He also had to stay away from Naruto so he won't bug him about what he had heard earlier. Something was telling him this was going to be a long trip to the Hidden Grass. He tried to pull his head away from Sakura and grabbed his novel and continued reading or... Maybe sight-seeing. He heard someone step on a twig moments later. He put his novel down and saw Naruto and his arms crossed, standing right in front of him.

"Yes?" He focused his attention back to his novel.

"You're hiding behind your novel again. You can't find the courage to look at the real Sakura."

"What are you talking about?"

"You've been staring at that page since Ichiraku's, Kakashi-sensei. Well, that's the first time I noticed you stare at the page... But who knows? You might have been hiding that longer than I think."

"Hiding what?"

Naruto snatched the opened book off of Kakashi's hands. He looked at the page and showed Kakashi what he meant.

"Hiding that!" He pointed at the book.

There was a picture of Sakura glued onto the page. Naruto recognized it. It was their picture when they were still Genin. Sakura's tongue was stuck out.

"You cut Sakura out of the picture just so you could place her on your fluff novel? That's not good. Why does she have a picture on your Icha Icha?"

While Naruto's thoughts were consumed with dirty ones, Kakashi was irritated. What did Naruto think? That Kakashi would imagine Sakura like that? He loved Icha Icha as much as he loved playing around in that adults' bar near his place, Hide Out, but he wasn't that dirty.

"Naruto, you better shut up." He snatched his book back and snapped it close.

"Just when are you going to tell her, Kakashi-sensei? You can't hide behind that novel forever."

"You know, you better get some sleep. It's a long way to Hidden Grass, you know. We're going after some girl named Haru. Why would she steal the Spring Necklace of Hidden Grass?"

(A/N: The name Haru means Spring in Japanese. It can be used for either boy or a girl.)

"You know, you like her more than I can imagine. You're just in denial. Goodnight, Kakashi-sensei." He waved his hand over his head as he turned around to head back to Sakura's direction.

Well, Kakashi wasn't planning on hiding but he wasn't planning on telling her either. He didn't know what to do. Naruto was right, he can't hide behind the novel forever, looking at Sakura when she doesn't know. In fact, the kunoichi didn't even know he had a picture of her stuck in his novel.

'Great... Maybe I'll get lucky and get eaten by a tiger or something.' He thought. Hiding his novel back in his pouch, he stood up.

He didn't really think of sleeping near the couple under the other tree. He just wanted to lie near the fire place. He tried to get Sakura out of his head. Never did he think of sleeping beside SAkura ever since he had felt something different about her. He didn't see her as a student or even an ex-student. He just thought of her as one of the people in Konoha, as the person she really is. She has grown from a bud to a full flower and he won't let any shoe to step on her nor any bee to get close to her-except for the people he knows but that's another story.

As he lay beside the campfire, he looked at Sakura one last time before he decided to get some shut eye. That's the second time he had seen her like that, sleeping peacfully. But he had to get that out of his mind, somehow. They were going after a person who looked exactly like her, only with longer hair.

The next morning they all picked up their paces to get to a small town in between Konoha and the Hidden Grass. Of course, they won't be stopping there just to rest. Sakura thought, even is they had a stop for lunch, they might as well ask some questions about the thief. So they all settled in a booth in one of the shops. Sakura and Naruto were sitting on one side and in front of them was Kakashi. Naruto was flipping the pages of the blue covered menu, hoping to find something he might like.

"Naruto," Sakura grabbed his menu. "I hope you're not looking for ramen in this place."

"Well, fine... I'll eat something else." He held out his hand and hoped that she would give his menu back.

"Good, we're eating dumplings and sushi." She folded her menu and placed it on top of the table along with Naruto's. "Kakashi-sensei, what are you going to eat?"

"Whatever you guys want. As long as Naruto pays for it."

"You guys know I'm broke!!!"

"Fine." Sakura grunted. "I'll pay for it." She pulled out her wallet and checked her money.

Naruto looked at Kakashi with one eyebrow raised and a devious smirk on his face. Of course, Sakura doesn't know what's going on so she looked at the both of the in confusion. Kakashi and Naruto were like talking with their minds. Although, Kakashi knew what Naruto wanted, he refused to do it.

"No, Naruto. I'm not doing what you think I want to do."

"Kakashi-sensei, go on! You know you want to!"

Still, Sakura was confused. What were they talking about?

"Fine." He reached for his pocket. "Sakura, keep your wallet, I'm paying."

She placed a smile on her face. He was really going to do that... Again? She was thankful but still very curious. How did Naruto do that? Did something happen between them? It was crazy. However, that was the least of her problems right now. With her stomach rumbling like a thunder storm, she really needed to eat something so she called on one of the male waiters.

"Kakashi-sensei, tell him what we ordered." She grabbed one of the menus and stuck her nose inside, trying to find a suitable drink for her diet.

"Good morning, senpai. What will you order for today?" He stood beside Kakashi's seat, making it hard for him to look at the kunoichi hiding behind the menu.

"Servings of dumplings and sushi. Good for 3. I'll have a glass of water."

"Do you have ramen?" Naruto scratched his chin. He was expecting a laugh and a 'no'.

"Well, we do have ramen. Chicken or beef?"

"I'll have beef ramen and a glass of cocktail juice."

"And..." She out the menu back where she had taken it. "I'll have a cocktail juice as well."

The waiter wrote down the orders and tucked his pen behind his ear. He grabbed for the menus placed on one side of the table and looked at his customers again. His eyes came accross upon a silver-haired adult, a blonde teenager and a what-seemed-to-be a familiar face pink haired adolescent. He dropped the menus in shock.

"You!" He pointed at Sakura.

"Me?" She pointed at her face. She didn't know this guy, why would she point her with a face painted with mortification? "Do I know you?"

"No! But the Hidden Grass does! My uncle is a guard in the Haru Temple and you stole his purpose! I am going to call on security to take you back to Hidden Grass! Just beacuse you cut your hair doesn't mean I don't recognize you, Haru!"

"What??!" She stood up and stood in front of the waiter. "I am NOT Haru!"

"Don't tell me lies, thief!"

Before a scene could occur, Kakashi stood in the middle of the fighting couple. Of course, he didn't want to end up watching Sakura beat the living daylights out of the innocent waiter just for mistaking her for the criminal they were after.

"Sir, I believe who you're looking for is this woman." He reached for his pocket and showed the picture of his real target. "And not Sakura."

"What?" He grabbed the picture from the Copy NIn. He examined Sakura and the lady in the picture. "You're right... I'm sorry. It's just that you look like her." He returned the picture.

"Can we have our meal now?" Naruto asked. "Please? I'm really hungry."

The waiter nodded and picked up the menus that fell. After a while, he returned with a tray of food. He came back without his apron and grabbed one of the chairs from another table and sat in the middle right of their table.

"So, you're also looking for Haru?"

"Yeah." Naruto nodded and put a thumbs up in front of him.

"I'm really sorry about earlier. You really do look like her once you grow your hair longer." He took out a piece of paper and held his pen. "But if you're available, you could give me you number."

"Kakashi-sensei... Permission to land one light blow on his face?"

"Permission not granted, Sakura." He pulled out his novel and started 'reading'.

"Don't make me punch you, you dumb waiter." She put her chopsticks beside her plate, meaning she had finished eating.

"Sorry, boy. She's taken." Naruto chuckled. Of course, he recalled what he had revealed from his novel last night when Kakashi had opened it in front of them again. He continued to eat but on one corner of his eye, he was watching Kakashi. Well, his face was dull as always.

"So what do you know about the criminal?" The silver-haired Jonin tried to take the subject off of Sakura.

"Well, the security cameras in the temple found this." He opened his wallet and reached out a folded paper. "It's a picture of Haru and her companions right outside the temple."

Kakashi was handed the small paper and he unfolded it. He placed it in the middle of the table so his companions would see the picture as well. Something surprised the three of them, though, when they glanced upon the photo.

"That looks like...." Naruto dropped his chopsticks.

There was a pink-haired woman, aka Haru, in the middle front. A blonde boy wearing his hair down like Uchiha Itachi, only shorter and shoulder-length. And a silver-haired shinobi man who wore his hair like Iruka. He was also wearing a coat like Shino's in order to hide his face like the original Kakashi. Their features were similar to theirs only, there were a few differences.

"...Us..." Sakura couldn't believe her eyes. She thought going after someone like her was weird... But now, they're going after who looks like them?

"I know... I escaped the fact you were them earlier since I knew the infamous Copy Ninja, Kakashi Hatake... But I thought you guys were them when I saw the cherry haired girl. It was a mistake after all. The latest news in Hidden Grass is that they're somewhere in the Moonlight Lake."

"This is just weird, Kakashi-sensei..." Naruto might have lost his appetite after the revelation and Sakura was rendered speechless.

"But at least we know she wasn't travelling alone and we know where to look for her after asking more questions in Hidden Grass. We have to hurry of we're going after spring..."

* * *

**Randomly speaking: Hey guys! KaRSHii7t4 here... Since October 9, 2009, I won't be able to make stories for 2 weeks. There are quarterly examinations coming up. One week for reciew and one week for exams. Thanks for reading! R&R! If you want to tune in for the stories, subscribe or put me in your favorites! Thanks again!**

**

* * *

  
**


	4. Clones

Wow... I didn't get a lot of reviews. Sorry I updated late. I had so much to do. So many homeworks and quizzes. I almost forgot about the story.

Chapter 4 - Clones?

Kakashi, Sakura and Naruto were already hopping over tree branches, not wasting any second to get to Hidden Grass. Sakura couldn't believe they were looking for people who were like modified replicas of them.

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto caught up with his speed, leaving Sakura behind them, deep in thought. "Is it possible that they are clones?"

"Well, Naruto, they don't technically look like us but they have the same features," Kakashi explained. "But that could be a possibility."

Sakura picked up her pace and joined in the Copy Nin and Jinchuuriki's conversation.

"I have another question. Could they be working for Orochimaru?"

"Well..." Kakashi thought about it. "There's a lot of chances. But, what would Orochimaru do with a necklace like that? He doesn't even know how to use it."

Well, that excludes Sakura's theory. There were several theories about why Orochimaru would need the necklace but all of them were excluded by the fact that he doesn't know how to use it. Naruto on the other hand was only thinking of how to bust his former sensei for crushing on his student.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei, aren't you getting tired?" Naruto smirked.

"No."

"What about you Sakura?" He sped up his running and got in front of Sakura just incase she wasn't tired. He had a plan under his sleeves.

"No, not really."

'Darn...' He thought to himself. Well, he did have a plan and it didn't go to waste. He gathered all his chakra onto his feet causing the brach he landed on to crack. Well, that branch was the one Sakura was about to hop on next. 'That should make Kakashi-sensei panic.'

Sakura was still thinking of a theory, unable to notice what Naruto had done to the branch she was about to step on. In a blink of an eye, she was already falling from a high tree. Naruto stopped and looked at Kakashi. The Copy Nin looked back with eyes creased.

"Aren't you going to do anything??" He crossed his arms.

"You better sleep with your eyes open tonight, Naruto."

He immediately swooped down like a hawk trying to catch its prey. He had to hurry before Sakura could get hurt. He was almost there, reaching for her hand. However, before he could even get a hold of her, she had already landed on the ground on her back. She scratched her head trying to position herself on her elbows. Kakashi was standing right in front of her.

"Ouch..."

"You okay?"

"I could've sworn that branch was strong enough when I saw it from a few meters away."

"Yeah... Me TOO." He looked up at the branch above him. Naruto was sitting there, swinging his feet back and forth. He smiled and showed a peace sign to Kakashi. "Let me help you up." He held out his hand, offering it to Sakura.

"Kakashi-sensei. I'm not a kid anymore. I can take care of myself." She stood up and patted the back side of her skirt, making sure there was no dirt. Kakashi looked around and sun was about to set. "We better hurry to the next town if we want to get some rest."

"You're right. No fooling around... Right, Naruto!"

"What makes you think I was fooling around."

"Let's just get back on our journey."

Sakura jumped back to one of the branches and continued running through the forest. Kakashi released a heavy sigh, hoping that Naruto wouldn't plan on doing anything like that any longer. He too followed after Sakura and Naruto fell behind with his evil grin planted on his face. Kakashi slowed up his pace, just the right amount to match Naruto's pace.

"Don't think I didn't she what you did, Naruto."

"I didn't do anything!" He smirked. "And besides... You weren't doing anything."

"So you only did that because you were bored?"

"Nooo... That's not it. Weren't ou planning on telling her how you feel?"

"That's be stupid, Naruto. I wouldn't want to be the talk of the town. Besides, 14 years? Are you kidding me? She'd probably think of me as a dirty old man if she knew."

"About being talk of the town, yeah... It's too late. People have been talking about it AAAAAAAAAAALL week." He laughed and put back the serious look on his face. "But seriously, if you're not telling her, I'll make sure she'd find out the hard way."

"And by that you mean..." He scratched his chin with his index finger while looking at the Yondaime's son.

"The hard way for the both of you." He looked at Sakura who was far ahead of both of them. "Even if it means I have to make her fall from a tree again. Even if I have to replace your drink with sake. And even if it means I have to steal that Icha Icha of yours."

"You can never be able to do that."

"Which means I am willing to do anything just so to tell her the truth." He stopped on one of the branches and Kakashi stopped on the next branch. "So it's either you tell her or I'll have to reveal it myself."

That conversation, oddly, sort of threatened Kakashi. Of course, when Naruto wasn't kidding, he never did go back on his word. Kakashi couldn't remember anytime that he did. Naruto sped up his movements to catch up with Sakura who had stopped on the last tree of the forest.

'Why did she stop?' Naruto thought to himself. Soon, he had stopped beside her, leaving Kakashi behind. He looked at Sakura's face. Her expression was shocked, surprised, as if she wasn't expecting anything like this situation. He looked to the direction Sakura was looking at and there, his eyes grew in awe.

The town was smoking. Civilians were running for their lives. There were no signs of shinobis in the town which wasn't surprising since it was hidden within the forest.

"Kakashi-sensei!" She looked back and almost bumped into him.

"Let's go, Naruto, before that fire spreads." He turned to Sakura. "You stay here." Looking back at Naruto. "Make Bunshins and look for any trapped or hurt civilians. Bring them to Sakura. I'll take care of the fire."

"Okay."

Sakura sat on the branch she was standing on a while ago as the boys fled off. She patiently waited for a Shadow Clone to come back.

Meanwhile, Naruto and Kakashi were running towards the flaming village, trying to avoid falling debris from above them.

"Why'd you have to leave SAkura? She could punch out those debris for us so we wouldn't have a hard time!" He coughed after questioning his companion.

"I think you know the reason." Kakashi lifted his forehead protector to get a better view of the path they were going through.

"Ohhh!" He smiled. "You want her to be safe!"

"No. I already told you, we need her to heal those people who are injured and to take care of those who are hurt." Well, that was the understatement of the year. It was so obvious he was defensive. He could've given Naruto a straight and short answer as usual like 'no'. Instead, he had to explain which made it easy for Naruto to see him through.

"You know, since ever I've found out about your secret, you've been a little more... Specific about your answers than usual..." Well, specific wasn't the right word but in the situation, he couldn't think of anything else.

Before Kakashi could even protest, he had heard a call for help from inside of a burning building.

"Naruto. I think I hear somebody in there!" He pointed at one of the smoking buildings. "Quick, use Kage Bunshin and look for other people! I'm going to look for the source of the fire!"

Kakashi ran off as soon as Naruto agreed. He had formed his seal and several Narutos had appeared behind him. He turned around to his clones and ordered them. "You know what to do. Spread out and if you find anyone, bring them to Sakura!"

The clones nodded their heads and scattered. Naruto headed for the burning building and searched for the source of the yelp. While he kept on looking, the girl kept on shouting. Still, she was nowhere to be found inside the building and he had looked on all three floors. He was about to leave when he had heard the screams getting closer as he walked. No sooner, a silhouette appeared behind the smokes.

"Help!!!" She continued. "Somebody help!"

"It's okay. I'm here!"

He waved his hand and tried to swipe the smoke away. He had spotted a red haired lady in a ragged kimono, her arms wrapped around her chest - as to sign of fear.

"Help... My little brother is somewhere in the town's fuel warehouse. That's where the fire started... Who knows what could have happened to him??!" She shook Naruto as she panicked for her brother desperately. "Help me! Help us!"

"Okay, okay! Let's go before the fire burns up the whole building!"

He grabbed the lady's hand and ran through the fire, trying to get to the nearest exit as fast they could. Her hand felt soft but her palm was very rough, as if she was working everyday. Unfortunately, several debris had fallen in front of them and blocked the exit they have found.

"Come on, let's find another exit!" Naruto tried pulling her but she didn't budge that much.

"No! I have tried! You have to get rid of this obstacle! Besides, if we waste our time to look for another exit and have no luck, we might get stuck in here. The fire had spread quickly earlier and it could spread even faster!"

"Well then, you might want to stand back Miss...."

"Akahana."

"Akahana. Walk a few inches away. This might get rough."

Naruto gathered all his chakra in his hand, trying to get just the right amount which won't let him waste any chakra. Akahana looked as Naruto's hand was handling a circular ball of chakra. She watched in awe as Naruto aimed for the flaming obstacle in front of them.

"RASENGAN!" He yelled, crashing his hand onto the debris. The flaming item just burst into a hundred pieces before Akahana's very eyes. Before she knew it, Naruto was already dragging her out of the building.

They both ran to the direction Akahana had given to him. There, he saw his former sensei, staring at the flaming warehouse. Naruto ran to Kakashi and yelled.

"What are you staring at the warehouse for??! There's little boy in there!"

"I know... But something's weird..." He sniffed again. "That's no ordinary chakra I can smell... If he was a shinobi, he could've jumped out of the situation right now."

"But he isn't jumping so get to the seals!" he yelled. Of course, Kakashi couldn't do anything about it so he formed the seals needed for his water jutsu. Soon enough, the fire was put out and all three of them split up in the warehouse to look for Akahana's brother.

Meanwhile, Naruto's bunshins had brought back a few injured civilians along with several homeless ones. Sakura started healing. As soon as she finished the first group, she leaned back on the trunk of the tree and sighed.

"Where are they? What's taking them so long?" She asked herself.

One of Naruto's replicas approached her and knelt in front of her position on the grass.

"You worried about Naruto?"

"No... I'm not worried about that idiot. He's old enough, he can take care of himself.

"So why are you so worried?" He changed his position to and INdian sit.

"I'm worried about the other idiot, Kakashi. Sure he's got that Sharingan but he's reckless. I wouldn't want him to be lying here in front of me with so many bruises and scars when I heal him!"

"Is that the only reason?" He raised an eyebrow. Of course, being Naruto's clone, he knows everything Naruto knows, including Kakashi's little secret. "Or maybe there's something more."

"No... As far as I can think about it, that's the only reason." She wouldn't know think about thinking of Kakashi that way unless she knew he was thinking of her that way. And by 'that way' I mean intimately.

"I'm sure Naruto would kill me because I'm not supposed to say this but...... Nah. I don't even think you should know."

"So you'll be keeping me in suspense?" Her curiosity developed as the clone was unable to finish his sentence.

"But this is... Different."

"Come on, Naruto. I've heard strange things! How bad could that news be?"

Naruto was about to explain when one of the other clones that Naruto sent came back with injured people carried on his back, stacked vertically.

"Ready for your next round, Sakura?" The other cloned asked.

"Yeah, sure." She got on her feet and punched the clone sitting in front of her to make it disappear and started healing the latest people brought to her.

On the other hand, Naruto, Kakashi and Akahana were having a really hard time looking for the boy. The warehouse was huge and it was like he was nowhere to be found. Well, that was until Akahana heard a boy scream.

"Naruto! He's over here!" She pointed at one of the hallways. As Naruto arrived at the scene along with Kakashi following behind, he stared at the hallway in awe. It was like the hallway went on forever and there were, like what, a hundred doors on each side of the hall?

"It'll take forever to look for him!"

"Not forever. Naruto," he announced. "42nd door to the right."

"Kakashi... I can't really count that fast when I run through that path."

"Sharingan Kakashi?" Akahana startled. "I am honored to have the Sharingan Kakashi and the son of Konoha's White Fang's prescence." She bowed in front of him trying to show respect.

"Really..." He scratched the back of his head. "You don't have to." He looked back at the endless halls. "I'll go."

Before Naruto could suggest that he'd come along, Kakashi already ran off. The 42nd door was made of steal. It was sturdy and not even Kakashi's punches and kicks could destroy it. There was only one way and that was Raikiri. He gathered the right amount of chakra on his hands and concentrated.

"RAIKIRI!" He yelled, crashing his hand against the metallic door.

The door broke down and he saw a young orange haired boy sitting in the corner of the room. He was shaking violently after watching Kakashi destroy the door.

"Are you okay?" The boy nodded. Kakashi sniffed, feeling some kind of prescence of chakra. "Are you the only one in here...?" The boy shook his head as he pointed behind Kakashi. He turned around, facing a giant and modified version of him. White hair and a covered face. "Who are-"

The gigantic man didn't let Kakashi finish his question as he threw his fist upwards causing Kakashi to fall back beside the little boy. Of course, Kakashi didn't really know why but he felt strange. It was like the punch did something more the hurt him. His shoulders were like they were paralyzed and he couldn't move his arms. Using his Sharingan, he scanned the man's body for anything unusual and found chakra on the guy's fists. He guessed that that man's power was paralyzation. Of course, he wasn't sure so he'd have to find out for his own.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" He felt the paralyzation spreading all over his body.

"Why should I tell you my purpose?" He swiftly ran in front of the young boy and carried him. Well, surprisingly, he had amazing speed. Speed like Gai's and Lee's but with the weights. "See you soon, Hatake Kakashi. And I left a little surprise for your companions too. Enjoy!"

He slowly walked towards the door with a calm expression, knowing that Kakashi wouldn't be able to stop him. As he walked, Kakashi spotted the orange head boy's hair turning yellow. And that shade of yellow looked familiar. All of a sudden, his head flashed back to when the waiter showed them the picture. He wanted to warn Naruto and Sakura... If only he could move his body.

Back in the nearby forest, Sakura was companioned by several civilians, mostly resting and others asleep and 2 of Naruto's Bunshins as she rested. However, both Bunshins weren't feeling so well. It was like their heads have hit. Both clones rubbed the top of their head. One of them disappeared.

"What happened?!" Sakura asked in shock. She was in panic.

"Sakura-chan! Be careful! She's nearby!" And as soon as he finished, he too disappeared in a pile of smoke.

'She's nearby...' What did he mean by that? Well, there was only one way to find out. She had to keep herself prepared in case trouble was heading towards her... And trouble was!

Somewhere in the streets of the smoking town, Akahana was running towards the village exit... Towards where Sakura was. 'Only a healing ninja is left. This shouldn't be a problem.' Slowly, from the root of her hair, the red hair slowly turned to pink. Akahana was slowly turned into Haru.

"Everybody..." She ordered the civilians. "Evacuate this area and head for the inner forest. You'll be safe there."

"What about you?" A young girl asked. "Are you going with us?"

"No. But I'll take care of anyone who tries to come near you, okay?"

She nodded and went on with the crowd. Sakura had herself ready. She could sense a powerful chakra heading her way. She pulled out her gloves and put them on one at a time. She removed any nuisance that would get in the way of her battle. It's been a long time since she's done this. She was used to signing files continously without rest but she knew she lacked practice since she became a medic ninja. The presence of the chakra gradually increased. It was a sign that the time of her fight was getting closer. No sooner, a pink haired kunoichi leaped onto the branch in front of her. She looked familiar.

'Crap! I didn't expect the Hokage's Apprentice....' Haru thought to herself.

"Haruno Sakura! I was expecting a Hyuuga to accompany the Nine Tailed Boy but instead, I found you here."

"How do you know who I am?"

"Well, Hidden Grass files! We knew that if we stole the necklace, they would call for Konoha's shinobis... And we were right."

"You sure did think this one out, didn't you?"

"Well, honey... If you are a real shinobi, you could've done this..." It was like Haru was insulting her. "Calculating every possible outcome of the situation, you have to be ready, come what may. And in this point, I know what NOT to do."

"Like what?" She slowly took out a kunai from her pouch.

"Pissing you off." In one swift move, Haru appeared behind Sakura, tying her against the trunk beside her. "Honey, a kunai will never work on me."

Sakura tried to struggle since the rope used to tie her up was as thin as a wire. However, whatever she did didn't work out.

"Sakura, dear. That rope has chakra on it. I used the health of the tree behind you to power the rope. That should hold you until the boys and I escape."

So the rope was absorbing energy from the tree. And it was special. Sakura wanted to figure what her so-called 'evil clone''s powers were but she couldn't do that if she would just be tied up on the trunk like that. She tried harder, gather her chakra to the part where she was tied up which was by the chest and her upper arm.

"See you soon, dear."

She ran off in the forest towards the direction of the civilians. Well, there was nothing she could do but wait for someone to help her.

Meanwhile, back in the warehouse, Kakashi could finally feel his feet again. That should be enough. He tried standing up by using the wall as his support and started running towards Naruto's direction. There by the entrance to the hall, he saw the blonde boy lying on the floor, unconscious. He felt his right arm lighten up so he carried Naruto over his shoulder.

Trying to get there in time, Kakashi rushes over to the forest to look for Sakura. Although, he was expecting a grand fight, all he saw was Sakura screaming for help, tied against a tree. He leaped to the branch she was standing on and put Naruto down.

"Kakashi! Haru is-"

"I know, she's here!" He untied the knot of the rope that tied up Sakura. "She has her companions with her."

"Thank Kami you're okay." She hugged Kakashi when the rope immediately fell on her feet. He was about to hug her back with his hand when she pulled away."What happened to Naruto??!" She knelt in front of the Jinchuuriki.

"I think it was Haru or the giant who did that."

"Giant?"

"Long story."

"We have to heal him!"

"No time! I've put out the fire. The civilians can go back to their village. Let's take care of the-"

"Oh crap! The civilians!" She stood up quickly and hopped towards the direction of the forest where she had sent the people to stay. As far as she could remember, that's where Haru was going.

Kakashi, left hand still paralyzed, was just watching her. He couldn't believe Sakura was worried about him. But he didn't think too much. He didn't want to get his hopes up because he knew that once he would, it would be hard when you fall. And not anyone, not even Kakashi, can bear the pain of waiting in vain.

When Sakura got to the area where the civilians were, they were fine. They were unharmed. Feeling like a heavy weight was lifted from her shoulders, she guided the people to get back in their town. The last people she had guided were a couple who owned and inn.

"I'm Kasumi. And this is my husband Teru."

"We own the Inn at the other side of the town near the other exit. My wife says the fire didn't catch up to one fourth of the town and our Honda Inn was safe from harm. You can stay there if you like."

"No, not really. We're fine sleeping in the forest." Sakura denied.

"We insist. I'm sure you guys are awfully hungry. Besides, you save our town from the raging fire. It's the least we could do. Wait... You were the ones who started the fire in the first place!!!" Kasumi cried.

"No! Those shinobis were thieves!" Sakura protested. "I'm Haruno Sakura. This is my sensei, Kakashi and the idiot on his shoulder is Naruto."

"Naruto? Isn't he that-? And Kakashi... son of... And Sakura, student of..." Kasumi asked.

"Yes, we are." Kakashi said sarcastically.

"Okay, Okay. You may stay in the Inn for as long as you like. Enjoy yourselves. Meals are free."

"Domo arigato gozaimasu!" Sakura bowed.

All of them entered the Inn and stayed in one room. Of course, now that she had the time, Sakura healed Naruto and placed him on the bed. Which reminds me, the room they were going to sleep in for the night had on Queen Bed, a couch a single bathroom and TV. They would eat downstairs where the cafeteria is. After Naruto was placed on the bed, Kakashi and Sakura decided to talk about the people who attacked them. Kakashi explained everything he had been through for the past hour and Sakura listened to every detail. In their world, every detail counts.

"So it's them who started the fire." Sakura concluded.

"And it could be possible that the fire was just a diversion to use our jutsus." Kakashi stated. "By the way, did you get the chance to fight-"

"No. It means she doesn't know what I can do... But still, they did their research. They know a lot about us." Sakura flashed back to when Haru explained.

"Yes, they do. But their researches aren't going to be updated. They know that the information they have is all they need."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying we can develop a jutsu for you, me and Naruto. They all know our old jutsus, they did their research but they won't know anything about our new task."

"Ohhh. So we'll start tomorrow?"

"Yes, we'll start immediately while we head for the Hidden Grass."

"Why do we need to go to Hidden Grass when we've already founf where the culprits are?"

"Because they might know something about the thieves that they didn't tell us. Like... Jutsus and what not." Kakashi couldn't look a Sakura directly. "Sakura, I'm really tired and I-"

"Give me your hand."

"What??!" Kakashi's eyes snapped at Sakura's question.

"I said, give me your hand." She held out her hand, palms facing upwards. Kakashi placed his fingerless gloved hand over Sakura's and felt a slight pain. He pulled away the second he felt it. "You used Riakiri, didn't you?"

"Yeah... But it never hurt before."

"That's because you're numb. I used this jutsu Tsunade-sama taught the medics. You gather you chakra on your hand but only a little so it won't be visible. If you scan an opponent's body with it, they would feel massive pain from even the smallest injuries it means that's how it should really hurt. And Kakashi, your hand must've felt something."

"Look, Sakura. Whatever Naruto told you-"

"About what?"

"Nothing. Let's get some rest and we'll get back on the trail tomorrow morning."

Sakura headed for the bed and ley beside Naruto and Kakashi slept on the couch. Only the moonlight from the windows lit up the room when Kakashi turned off the lights. He still couldn't get any sleep. He couldn't get Sakura's image and voice away from his head. It was like she was carved on one side of his brain. He was hoping he'd have better luck the next day trying to forget about how he feels but what he doesn't know is that it's impossible.

It's impossible to get the person you love away from your head. Yes, he loved Sakura. He just didn't want to admit it to himself. He didn't want to break the rules and mostly... He didn't want to break the great bonds he had with her. He never knew a bud like her would bloom into a beautiful flower that she is now. He thought she was going to stay the same, a crybaby and only the smartie of Team 7.

Next Chapter: His Little Secret. Kakashi and Naruto have a little talk as they bathe while Sakura cooks lunch for them. She passes by the lake to catch some fish but Sakura and the guys in the lake won't notice each other. For all Sakura knows is that Naruto and Kakashi were walking around the forest, patrolling and all the boys knew is that she was at the camp site, cooking food. Will she overhear their conversation! Wait for the next chapter!

I'm working on my How Will I Get Over You? story. And I'm also going to work on another story as soon as I finish the How Will I Get Over You?. This story still has a lot of chapters ahead so tune in!

Randomly Speaking: Hey guys! I'll be updating irregularly since I need to squeeze in my fanfic time in my schedule! I promise I'll update as soon as I can! Sayonara! 


	5. His Little Secret

Don't own Naruto Series remember? Not the first season nor the Shippuden! Masashi Kishimoto, also known as NiKO7t4's hero, is the owner.

**Chapter 5 - His Little Secret**

Sakura, Kakashi and Naruto are now back on the trail. Even though he revived quickly, Naruto still felt a slight headache. Sakura insisted on staying for a few more hours but Naruto just wanted to finish this mission before anything worse could even happen. Once the sun had finally reached its highest point, they decided to get some lunch. Lucky for them, the stopped by a lake and it would be perfect since Kakashi had this craving for fish. They all found a perfect spot to rest.

As soon as Naruto thought he had rested enough, he stood up.

"I'm going for a swim at the lake. Kakashi-sensei, do you want to come with me?"

"I think I'm stayi-"

"I insist!" He pulled Kakashi and he was forced to stand up. She'd be left alone to cook their lunch.

"So fish is our lunch?" Sakura asked.

"Definitely." Naruto confirmed. "Just call on us when you're done."

Soon, both of them reached the lake. Naruto took his clothes off, only leaving his boxers on while Kakashi only took of his flack jacket and sandals, leaving his blue suit on. They both stepped into the lukewarm water and enjoyed it... Well, Kakashi WAS enjoying but then Naruto had to speak up.

"Did you tell her last night?" He smirked.

"No. I'm not that stupid. Just because you're asleep last night doesn't mean I'd tell her." He removed his forehead protector and tossed it alongside with his jacket. "Besides, as I've said before, I have no intention of telling her."

"Come on, Kakashi-sensei! You can copy almost every possible jutsu, you can use the Mangekyou Sharingan... And yet you can't tell how you feel about a girl??!"

"I-It's not that easy, you know??!" He looked away. (A/N: Yeah, yeah.. I know Kakashi would never stammer and get all blushy like that... But it adds the humor! Give it a chance.)

"You know, it didn't take long for me to confess to HInata how I feel." He shrugged and turned away to look at the rest of the lake.

"Naruto..." He sighed. "No offense but I bet all your girlfriend did was blush and went cold afterwards when you told her. And she normally does that when she hears your voice. So it must have been something worse."

"Actually, she went tomato red and slapped me in the face. Yeah... She thought I was a poser since she thought I could never love her... But when I proved it was me, that's the time she fainted." He chuckled and flashed back to when that moment happened. "Why won't you tell her?"

"First of all, have you noticed? We're 14 years apart!" He leaned back on the rock behind him. "Second, it goes against everything that everyone believes in." He looked at the clouds that floated by. "Third, I'm pretty sure she'd never feel the same way." He shut his eyes. "And finally..." He paused and looked at Naruto with a serious face. "It's none of your business."

He decided to enjoy his bath but it was kind of hard with Naruto around. He kept on blabbering about the reasons why he should tell Sakura. In the meanwhile, Sakura had already collected enough firewood and so she goes to one side of the lake to catch some fish. She went on the side Naruto's and Kakashi's backs were facing. It was hard for them to notice her with all the bushes behind them.

She had already caught a few fishes in about a minute when she had started hearing voices. She knew one of them belonged to Naruto and the other was none other than her own Team Leader. She decided not to disturb them so she continued but she didn't intend to eavesdrop. It just happened.

"So.." She heard Naruto talking... "What do you wanna do now?"

"Keep quiet." She heard as she dipped one hand in the river to get a medium sized fish. "That would be perfect for MY relaxation."

"Seriously, you keep quiet about everything all the time! You can't just lock up your thoughts in that head of yours." He yelped. "And for sure, no one, not even you, can keep those feelings locked up in that heart."

Okay, this time, Sakura was really curious. When it was about feelings and heart, this could only mean one thing... Kakashi was in love... Wait, that didn't really sound right for her. Was she really hearing this??! Or perhaps she misunderstood. Either way, she was more focused on listening to the boys on the other side thus missing the fish and letting it run away. But that was none of her concern right now.

"Did you forget about what I told you before?" She heard splashing. "If you won't tell Sakura-chan, I'll make sure she finds out the hard way. And that's for both of you!"

"Naruto, fine. If I find the perfect opportunity, I'll tell Sakura, okay? Are you happy?"

Tell her what??! Okay, even though they didn't know she was there, that was kinda rude leaving her hanging like that. Now Sakura really wanted to find out.

"Fine." Naruto scoffed. "Hey... Sakura-chan's all alone cooking lunch right now... Isn't that an open opportunity?" His eye shined as he smirked at the Copy Nin.

"I'll find that opportunity right after the mission when we're in the village again." He soaked his head and rose up again.

"So what? When you tell her you can run away to some place she doesn't know?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.

Sakura's attention was now focused on their conversation. 'These should be enough' she thought to herself about the fish. She crawled towards the bushes and sat with her back facing the bushes along with Naruto and Kakashi's backs.

"Well yeah. It's impossible for me to run around here since we're on a mission. Then maybe I should just tell her when it's over." He looked up at the sky again. "We've been here for quite sometime. Let's get back. Sakura should be done with lunch by now."

Okay, this wasn't really what she was expecting. They were going back to the campsite for lunch and she was still sitting there. She had to do something. She had to get there fast. Noticing Naruto's sandals scattered, she threw them into the river and ran as fast as she could. That should keep them away for a few minutes. She hurried cooking the fish in one round so she'd be done immediately.

Meanwhile, Naruto had already dressed up but his shoes were missing. Kakashi was set to go but Naruto panicked as he tried to find his shoes.

"Kakashi-sensei! My sandals!!! I can't find them!" He jumped to the other side. "Sandals! Sandals!" He reminded himself over and over, trying not to forget what he was looking for.

"Naruto, this is why you need to learn to be organized." Kakashi calmly followed Naruto to the other side.

"Kakashi-sensei, help me out here!" He searched the bushes. "Use some jutsu or that eye of yours. It has to be put to good use for practical reasons!"

"I am NOT using Sharingan to look for some Genin's missing sandals." _(A/N: Remember, in Shippuden, Naruto was still Genin since he trained for a couple of years out of Konoha and he wasn't able to take the exams.)_

"Come on! Could you just sniff them out? Or else I'd tell Sakura once we get back!" Okay, he was not trying to _blackmail_ the Copy Nin. Well, he could but he seemed a little lazy to do it now. But even so, just to get him to shut up... Anything to shut him up...

"In the lake..." Naruto blinked in confusion. "In the bottom of the lake. Your sandals."

"Ohhhhh!" Naruto, not wasting any minute, dived in the lake with his clothes on.

_'If he's going to ask me to help him dry up, I am not helping. It's his fault he's so hasty about some mere sandals.'_ He started to walk away towards the direction of the campsite. His hands in his pockets, remembering he still wasn't done with his novel, he decided to pull it out and continue reading. He read his way through the forest until he smelled fire. It must have been Sakura.

"Kakashi-sensei!" He heard a feminine voice call out. "Where's Naruto??! Lunch is ready."

He raised his head, looking at Sakura and went back to the book. He flipped the pages, passing through the page where Sakura's picture had been stuck onto. He stared at it for a full minute and continued flipping the pages. 'I'm just another dirty old man to her...' He thought to himself.

"Naruto's looking for his sandals. That wasn't very nice, Sakura." He glared at her as if he was trying to intimidate her.

"I-I didn't do anything!!!" She stammered.

"I don't know how you could do that..." His voice was husky... And that was the first time she had heard him like that. "but... I _hate fish_." Her eyes widened suddenly. "You only listen to Naruto's confimation and not mine?"

Rolling her eyes, she scoffed. "You take what I give you, sensei." She glared at him.

Now that Naruto had his sandals and knowing Kakashi already went back, everything was going just fine. He figured they'd get some time alone... Although... He really didn't count the fact that Kakashi wasn't really going to tell her until they got back... Okay, now he had to go back to the campsite.

Naruto arrived as Sakura and Kakashi finished eating their lunch. All that was left was one small fish. 'Well, that's what he gets for setting us up.' Kakashi thought to himself and chuckled.

They got back on the trail. Kakashi lead while Sakura and Naruto followed behind. They were almost at the Hidden Grass. Only a few more hours. They'd stay in a hotel there and get the information they needed the day after. Everyone needed rest.

Once they got to the gate, they immediately went to the hotel and rested.

"I'm going to get some investigating done." Kakashi walked towards the door of the room. "Naruto. Shut. Your. Mouth." He looked back at him and gave him a mean look.

"Sure thing, Kakashi-sensei." He showed his teeth and gave an assuring smile. One he had to fake. Once Kakashi had left the hotel room, Sakura and Naruto were now left alone. And right now, Sakura didn't care if curiousity killed the cat. She really wanted to know.

"Naruto... Earlier before lunch.. I heard you and Kakashi-sensei talking at the river... And... I was wondering... What was it you were talking about?" Naruto wanted to tell her but he knew it would be better if Kakashi was the one to tell her.

"Sakura-chan, I shouldn't really be the one telling you. I know he's going to tell you sometime but... I think it would be better if he told you sooner... And he doesn't plan on doing that." He thought of a plan but he wasn't sure if Sakura would go with it. But he had to risk being pumbled into rubble if he stated his plan. "I've had this idea since lunch... But I think you're going to kill me for saying this..."

"What do you have in mind?" She sat down on the floor.

"Look, if you want to find out so badly immediately... You could... Try and extract the info from him by... _Seduction_?" Okay, Naruto had gone way too far! What did seducing Kakashi have to do with the information she wanted?

"WHAT??! Naruto, you could just tell me about it! Don't make me do things like that to get what I want!" She whined like a little girl to Naruto. "It's Kakashi-sensei! With the Icha Icha and the mask and the girls who know what his true face looks like and the reading of smut in public and the-"

"Sakura-chan.. The phrases about Kakashi you're saying?" He shook his head. "They don't make sense." He sat across her. "Why are you being so affected and defensive? Everyone's been dying to try and seduce Kakashi-sensei!"

"Everyone except me! He's my sensei, I can't seduce him!" She crossed her arms and looked at him. "It goes against eveything everyone believes in! Even what I believe in! If I do that, the world must come to an end!"

"Come on, just try! Think of it as a mission. Besides, what you need to know is very important... Not that Kakashi-sensei cares. The easiest way to get him to tell you is to seduce him. Or if you don't want, you could try something harder like taking his Icha Icha and turning it to page 28."

"What's on page 28?" (A/N: I forgot to mention... Page** 28** is where Sakura's picture had been stuck onto. And **28 **is also Sakura's birthdate.)

"I don't know... I think you should take the novel first before seducing him. That's a good plan to get everything in order."

"What do I need the novel for?"

"You'll see. If you want to find out before this mission ends, you'll stick with my plan!" He insisted, raising his voice but not that loud. "Come on, I'm sure it won't be that hard."

"How are you so sure about that?" She crossed her arms and scoffed.

"Because it's you tha-" He paused for a moment, thinking that he almost blurted it out. "Because it's you that a guy would usually want. You're pretty, very smart and ho-" Sakura gave him an evil glare.

"What is it? I'm what?" She continued giving him that look. He gulped and thought of something quick.

"It was nothing." He sighed. "Well are you willing to do it?"

She thought of it. Was it really something worth seducing someone like him? Was it something she really wanted to know? If it is, then why? Right now, if curiosity could kill, she would have been dead. Why did she want to know in the first place? Was it important to her? Would it be?

"What was it about, anyway? I heard my name and I just-" She stopped talking when she noticed Naruto got up and looked at her. He pretended to zip his mouth and smiled at her.

"I'll say it again and this time, slowly. Se-duc-tion. And as far as I see it, that's the only easy way, Sakura." He headed towards the door and opened it. "I'm going to look for something to eat. Stay here, Sakura-chan. I'm sure a certain someone wouldn't want you in danger."

"How would I get danger around this village? High-level shinobis run everywhere here."

"Just stay here. I'll get us something to eat." He closed the door slowly behind him. And left alone, Sakura decided she should get some rest. And since it was only her, she decided to take a long, cold shower.

Meanwhile, Kakashi walked the streets of The Hidden Grass, thinking about what Naruto said. Well, it was better is she knew and he was gone after. It would be hard if they still had to soak in a conversation. But still, the Kyuubi-Boy had a point. He knew he was partially wrong. He too knew a part of his side was wrong. But it was the right thing to do, in order to protect their names. It was everything against the rules... Kakashi stopped walking and gazed at the path he was going through... A lot of civilians passing by like Konoha, he was in the middle of the road, he could spot a few Flack Jacket-wearing people whom he guessed were shinobis. He approached a hazelnut brown haired lady who was also wearing one of the jackets. She looked ver familiar.

"Excuse me," He asked. "Do I know you?" The lady looked up at him since she was several inches shorter. Maybe she was just as tall as Sakura or Naruto.

"Oh Kami..." Her eyes widened at the sight in front of her. "Kakashi-_kun_." She gave him a big hug, her head just below the Copy Nin's mask-covered chin. He smelled the Autumn Breeze within her hair. No doubt about it. He knew that hair. And of course, no one else added _'-kun' _to his name but...

"Kodaka Akiha-san." He tried pulling out but it was no use. He had slept with this lady. He remembered but using his Sharingan, he put her into a deep sleep for 3 days so he could make her think everything was just a dream. And there was nothing to worry about. He wasn't her first anyway. "How was the past 4 years?"

"Fine, Kakashi-kun." She finally let go ang looked at him. "You haven't changed one bit since we last worked together." Gazing at his mask, she frowned. "I'm guessing no one still knows about that face of yours."

"No one at all." He pretended to examine her and gave her a cheery eye crease. "You haven't changed too. Long hair, black nail color, same bandage on your arm." He pointed at the white bindings wrapped around her right arm.

"Well, time doesn't heal a fracture, you know? The medics here stink. We're very sure they lack in training since there are no expert medics around." She laughed. "What brings you here, anyway?"

"We have a mission." He pulled out the picture of Haru from his Kunai Pouch. "I'm sure you know of her."

"We?" She pulled the picture from Kakashi and took a good look at her. "Yeah, I know her." She lifted her pants slightly and lifted her ankle. "She wounded my left ankle when she stole the-"

"The Haru Necklace. We know. That's why we're here. I'll have someone to treat that arm of yours. In return, you tell us everything you know about Haru and her playmates." He turned around. "Follow me." He ordered her.

*****

Back in the hotel room, Sakura had just finished taking a bath and she put back her clothes on. She sat on one side of the bed while messing with her bag. She wondered what she could do while waiting for both guys to come back. She found a piece of paper with a message but the message was meaningless so she decided to throw it away. Next, she found a pencil case which she knew only consisted of a couple of pens so she set them aside. Looking for more things to mess with, she touched something familiar... She slowly pulled it out. It was a necklace she made herself and she was supposed to give Kakashi on Christmas... 2 years ago. But she forgot to give it. Oh well, it's worthless now. She put it on one side of the bag.

She heard the door suddenly open so she fixed her bag immediately and set it aside. Kakashi had entered the room alone. What shouls she do? Should she go with Naruto's plan? When was it effective anyway... Right now, she panicked.

*** Moments ago... ***

_"Follow me..." He ordered her._

_"Maybe some other time, Kakashi-kun. I'm a bit busy right now."_

_"Really? Are you sure you don't want to get that shoulder of yours checked?" He stopped and turned his head slightly._

_"Nahh. I'm really fine. I got used to this." She moved her injured arm a little and then laughed._

_"If you say so." He continued walking as he waved to her._

_'Kakashi-kun... You __really haven't changed one bit.'_

* * *

"Kakashi-sensei." She exclaimed. "Finally someone to talk to."

She immediately stood up and literally jumped on him straddling his legs while he laid on the floor. Even from afar, he could smell strawberries... But now, her scent was just addicting... Almost impossible to resist. He really wanted to hug her tightly right now and not let go until never but hugging her without a reason would be inappropriate... And it would be waaaaay too awkward for her. And the position wasn't making it any easier.

"You wouldn't believe how bored I was. I had to open my bag and get every detail of it!" She giggled.

"Excuse me, Sakura... I don't think the blood got to my feet anymore..." He tried getting her off but she stayed.

"Is that so?" She got down on all fours on top of him. "Well then... Let's make it easier."

Her hair dangled from side to side right above him. All of the sudden, the atmosphere changed. He felt her aura go from innocent to being mature... Maybe a little too mature at this rate.

"Is there something you're not telling me? _Sen. Sei_?" She said the last word by syllable. This was getting a little hard for him to handle. "Are you nervous?"

"Sakura... What's gotten into you?" His voice was calm but something was running within him. Her eyes were too beautiful to stop looking at. Her hair smelled too good to stop smelling. He panicked. He didn't want to ravage her but it was getting a little to hard. "Sakura please stand up. I'm tired and in need of a **REAL** bath."

"But-" If he didn't cut her off, then maybe she would have known what they were talking about by now.

"Sakura.." He said in a husky voice. He placed one hand on her neck and the other cupped her cheeks. He slowly drew her head closer to his. He placed his lips near her ears and whispered slowly. "You're going to have to get off if you don't want things to get _complicated_."

Sakura froze on the spot. She didn't know what to do. What did he even mean by that anyway? She didn't move an inch. Kakashi quickly scooted out from beneath Sakura. He took off his flack jacket and placed it on the bed along with his bindings and kunai pouch. He entered the bathroom in his blue suit and left his sandals in front of the bathroom door. He pushed his back against the door. 'That was close...' He thought to himself. He almost broke down underneath his precious kunoichi.

While he leaned against the door, Sakura fell on the carpet-covered floor flat on her stomach. _'What just happened right there?'_ She thought. He was really serious a few moments ago. And only seldom did she see him like that around people. She turned her head slightly to look at the bed. There, she spotted the sight she just wanted to see. _'His kunai pouch!_' She stood up immediately and sat beside Kakashi's stuff. She slyly took the pouch, avoiding the kunais to jingle altogether. Opening the pouch, a bead of sweat rolled down her temple for his former sensei could come out of that bathroom any minute. She spotted the orange book beneath all the kunais and all she had to do was get them out.

Once it was out of the kunai-filled pouch, she thumbed the pages to page 28 quickly before she saw anything... Different. Well, this was an unusual sight... She had never even seen this anywhere before... A picture of her stuck on a book? It was definitely an unusual sight. She couldn't help but stop and think of a reason why she was there. She took her picture and closed the book. She placed back the book inside the kunai pouch and put it back where and the way she found it.

Hearing the door of the room open, she placed her picture underneath one of the pillows and pretended to sleep.

"Sakura-chan? Are you asleep?" A loud voice called out. "Sakura-chan?" She felt a hand shake her shoulder. "Don't sleep yet. You haven't eaten."

"Huh?" She opened her eyes and raised her torso with her elbows as a support. "You're back already?"

"Yeah." He showed the plastic he had to Sakura. "And I see Kakashi-sensei's already here." He looked at Kakashi's stuff.

"Yeah. I-" She couldn't tell him she failed. That would be embarrassing. And telling him that means she really did want to find out.

"She slept the minute I got here."

Sakura and Naruto looked at the Copy Nin who was drying his hair with a bath towel. He rubbed two sides of the towel against each other with his silver hair in the middle. He set the towel aside, droplets of water still hanging on several ends of his hair which made them look very unique and different. A part of his navy blue suit was wet from all the droplets of his hair.

"Naruto." He stepped closer towards the loudmouthed blonde. "You forgot the chopsticks. Go downstairs and ask for some." He grabbed the plastic away from him and set it on the coffee table.

"Alright fine." He put on his sandals again. "I thought I told the old lady to put in some. I'll be back in 5 minutes."

"Well, I guess she didn't." Kakashi concluded, taking the food out of the plastic. Naruto marched out, leaving Kakashi and Sakura alone in the room again... Well, this was what she was afraid of- she just tried seducing the man before her now and failed but now she's left alone with him. The atmosphere felt awkward. It was like there was some sort of heavy breeze around them... She didn't know if it was the atmosphere or was it just her. But nevertheless, she was nervous. The five minutes Naruto was talking about? Nah-uh. A minute felt like a year within the silence that surrounded them. "Sakura, what-" She cut him off before anything he could say anything about what had happened before Naruto arrived.

"You're right." She stood up and quickly headed to the door while looking at Kakashi with a smile. "I should go to see what's taking him so long." She turned to the door knob and grabbed a hold of it. However, she was stopped by the Sharingan-User. Before she could even turn the knob, Kakashi already rushed in front of her, holding her by the wrist.

"No, Sakura." He sounded serious. "It's only been 32.4 seconds." Okay, this was really some moment. He sounded like a robot and that freaked her out.

"Kakas-"

"Naruto won't be back for another 7 minutes, Sakura." He tightened his grip on her wrist.

"How do you know that?" She asked, trying to get her wrist away from him but it was no use. No matter what she does, his grip on her was too tight.

"I won't answer that until you answer my question." He pulled Sakura around and pinned her back against the door swiftly before she realized it. His hands were placed on both sides of her head, caging her in. "What were you thinking back then?" His voice was husky and this time... He sounded kind of... _Hot_.

"Back _when?_ Back _where?_" She panicked. He knew that she knew what he was talking about and he knew she didn't want to talk about it. He brought his lips close to her ears.

"Sakura..." He said in a soft voice, but he wasn't whispering. "Don't ever do that to me... Ever. You know what kind of an old man I am. Most shinobis see me a dragon in the field but when it comes to women... I lose it easily. Even though you were my student..." He lightly cupped her chin with his index finger and his thumb and he whispered this time... "_You're no exception to that fact._"

Sakura wished to punch him right now but her limbs failed her. No matter how much she wanted to, fear and embarrassment overwhelmed her. She shook right there, feeling her knees tremble and grow weak. She could have opened the door and escaped from him after he pinned her caged her against the door, but no... She chose to listen to what he had to say. And now, she found herself in a difficult situation. Her heart beat faster than usual but why?

'_Naruto, what's taking so long?_' She thought to herself. She was afraid. What would happen if Kakashi had lost it a few moments back. She looked back into those mismatched orbs. He could tell from her eyes that she was trembling more violently on the inside than she was right in front of her. He could hear her heart pounding. He knew that if this was the girl a few years back, she would have screamed and would have broken down into tears right now. He was surprised she could sustain her strength. Well, it was time to end the torture. He chuckled and swiftly pulled away from Sakura. The kunoichi blinked in confusion.

"What's so funny?" She crossed her arms.

"You..." He continued chuckling and headed towards the unprepared food. "Now set the food before Naruto comes in. He'll be here in 3 minutes."

Now Sakura, whose back was still pressed against the door, was furious. After getting her through all of that, he was just kidding. Did he know how much fear crawled under her skin when he talked to her like that? Was he even serious about what he said. She tried to compose herself and confront Kakashi about what he meant but it was too late. Before she could even open up her mouth to say something, Naruto returned.

"A minute earlier." Kakashi sat down in front of the coffee table. "I'm guessing there's no traffic on the elevator?"

"Nope." Naruto threw a pair of chopsticks to the Copy Nin. "So what did I miss?" He looked at Sakura with a smile.

"Nothing." Sakura and Kakashi said simultaneously. She immediately looked at him with narrowed eyes. The Sharingan-user sensed Sakura's anger but he had to ignore it right now. He wouldn't deal with her in front of Naruto. The truth was, he meant all of those things that he had just said to Sakura. He couldn't help himself. It was either tell her how he felt or ravage her against her will. He just had to let it out. He knew it was better if he vented it to her but he ended it with a laugh just so Sakura would think he was kidding. It was just a matter of psychology. He had to do something he was expected to do... And the best option was to laugh it off of her. Everyone knows Kakashi wouldn't just say things like that so he did what was expected.

They all sat down to in front of the table on different sides and began eating. While eating, Sakura couldn't heolp but think about what Kakashi said a few minutes back. Did he mean them? Those words? They just didn't seem like him. And why did he laugh anyway? Why was her heart pounding as loud as a bass drum when he was up close to her. She never felt that when she was Genin and when Kakashi would save her. And usually on out of town missions with Team 7, Kakashi was the person beside her when sleeping. Why didn't she feel what she felt a few minutes ago at those times? She wasn't sure about that yet.

On the other hand, she was sure Kakashi was hiding something. She just had to find out what he was hiding. She had to find out why he had a picture of her in his book. She just had to know his little secret.

* * *

This time, she's really determined to know his little secret. What was he hiding from her? And this time, Kakashi swears to be more careful when around Sakura or else, the next time he's around her, he might break down. And it also looks like something's going on between Haru's team. In the next chapter, Haru and her team already have several steps of their plan accomplished. A few more and they'll succeed and Kakashi's team is still far behind! What will they do? Tune in for the next chapter- "New Jutsu!: Lightning Tornado Violence"

**Randomly Speaking:** Guys! You don't know how hard it was to squeeze this in! I even lost my USB in the process. I only found it a month later. And we had exams, the foundation day, the Cheering Squad... Speaking of which, GO DYNASTY! I'm 2nd year and we beat the 3rd year students! HOW DO YOU LIKE US NOW??!

_xoxo,_  
**NiKO7t4**


	6. Lightning Tornado Violence

**His Last Request**

**Chapter 5: Lightning Tornado Violence**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! Masashi Kishimoto does! And he is pure genius!**

* * *

While Sakura had been sleeping on the bed, Naruto was on the carpeted part of the floor and Kakashi was positioned on the couch.

She looked out the window and caught a glimpse of the moon. Tomorrow, they would start developing that new jutsu Kakashi had in mind. Although she was excited, she too felt nervous. That would mean the whole day, Kakashi would be focused on teaching them. She could just imagine him explaining where to focus what, what to do and observing them while they execute it. Why did she even feel like this?

She never felt this way when they trained back in the day. She never felt so nervous about making a mistake nor self-conscious about the Copy Ninja watching their every move. Was it because of what happened earlier today?

_When it comes to women... I lose it easily_. She felt her stomach flip just thinking about what he said. She felt every drop of blood go up to her face. She grabbed the blanket-which covered her up to the waist-to cover her face. _Even though you were my student, you're no exception to that fact. _Her face grew even redder than before. She just wanted to get some sleep but it seemed very difficult for her. Why was she even thinking about those things? She shifted her position from facing the window to the other side.

On the other hand, Kakashi too was having a hard time sleeping. His forehead protector covered both of his eyes. He heard someone move and he figured it would be Sakura since there was a sound of blankets being moved.

He figured it would be a long time before this mission finished, considering what just happened earlier. Again, he couldn't take Sakura off of his head. Her green orbs, her pink hair, they were tattooed in his mind and he wanted them off. And he couldn't believe he said what he did earlier-about things being complicated and about losing it easily. He felt some sort of regret cross his mind. He remembered how she looked, shaken up in front of him, too nervous to even speak. Her eyes were nervous, scared but most of all, innocent.

Soon enough, he noticed Sakura stopped moving. He figured she fell asleep by that time since he could hear her even breathing. He rose from his position and went to the bathroom. Maybe a good shower would be some help into getting him to sleep.

She removed the blanket from her head the minute Sakura heard the bathroom door shut. She pulled out her picture from underneath her pillow and got out of bed.

_'Better put this back before he notices I took it...' _she thought. She ran up to the side of the couch. There, she saw leaning against the arm rest, was Kakashi's kunai pouch. Again, she opened it with caution and took out the book. "Crap!" She whispered to herself. "What page was it on!?!?"

"Page 28." A voice said.

"Thank you.." She opened the book to page 28 and put it back in the kunai pouch. That was when it struck her. She turned her head to the direction of the voice and saw Naruto lying on the floor with his arms folded behind his head. He was looking at the ceiling.

"You gave it a look huh?" He asked calmly in hushed tones. Although furious, Sakura had to fight the urge to stomp on his stomach and just be calm.

"I though you were asleep!" Sakura replied with the same volume Naruto had used, only a little louder.

"That's the least of your problems now." He said as he propped himself up onto his elbows. "What happened before dinner?"

"Nothing!" She slightly turned red, although in the dark, it was pretty hard to see. "I decided to get some shut eye when he came back." _You're no exception to that fact_. Good God, why couldn't she get that moment out of her head?! Well, she never really thought about thinking of him that way before, why start now? She just shook it all out of her head.

"Are you sure?" He raised an eyebrow, although this time, without the cocky expression.

"Just go back to sleep before Kakashi-sensei finds out we're still awake.." She ordered him before making her way back into the soft mattress of the bed. "Goodnight, Naruto."

"Good night." He covered his eyes with the back of an arm and the other hand rested on his stomach.

Minutes later, Kakashi got out of the bathroom and made his way back onto the couch. _'That did the trick..' _Kakashi thought, feeling his eyes getting heavier and heavier by the minute.

* * *

Meanwhile, somewhere just in the outskirts of the Hidden Grass were three rogue ninjas resting on a branch of a tree. Two males standing behind a pink haired lady who was sitting on the edge of the branch. They watched people come and go from the streets.

"Haru-sama.. Are you sure you want this life?" The white-haired giant asked.

"Of course! Papa says I can be anything I want!" She said in a childish manner. "And what I want is to be more powerful than those Hidden Grass idiots." And giggled afterward. "I was born with an enormous amount of chakra and why not put it to good use and avenge my mama?"

"Haru-nee-sama." The blonde behind her leaned over and patted her shoulder. "Mama's long gone. Don't you think we should just let those punks off the hook?" Given an evil glare by his younger sister, he had to take that as a _'no'_. He withdrew his hand from her shoulder and went back to his previous position and put his gloved hands in his pockets.

"It's fine with you because you got the chance to spend enough time with mama..." She crossed her arms across her chest and pouted. "And if any one of you turns against me, I swear..." She lifted a fisted hand in the air just so her companions can see the chakra leaking out her hands. "...this is what you'll be dealing with!" The pink chakra circulated her hand, and the males could even see some dropping onto the tree as if they were mere droplets of water. Like she said, she was born with an excessive amount of chakra. Even though some of them looked like they went to waste, it didn't matter to her since she over produced it. "You guys promised papa you'd help him keep me happy!" She said gleefully.

"Yes, Haru-sama." The white-haired man bowed.

_'Mama was innocent... Papa said so.' _She thought to herself as she lowered her fist. _'She needn't to die that time. She didn't have to die right in front of me...' _She stood up from her position and faced the people behind her.

"Fuyushi, my dear servant." She handed out her palm to the direction of the white-haired man who was at least 6 or 7 feet tall. He was ripped-muscles everywhere. He wore gloves to protect him from hurting her master. "Hand me the necklace." He did as he was told. He searched his pockets for the necklace and placed it on top of Haru's palm. _'I'll avenge you, mama.' _She thought. _'I have that necklace you've been dreaming of.' _She couldn't help but look down to her feet. She couldn't let them see she was tearing up.

"Nee-sama..." The blonde whispered to himself.

After a while, Haru raised her head once again. Although she had a tough look on her face, they could see her eyes were swollen. "Let's destroy that cursed village!" She yelled.

"Wait, nee-sama!" The blonde cried out. He pulled her forearm and spun her so she would face him. "Are you sure you want to do this?!"

"Kintora...." She raised a fist in front of his face. "What did I just tell you?!" Seeing the raging anger in her sister's eyes, he let go of her.

"Gomen, nee-sama."

How the hell did he get dragged into this, anyway? Taking orders from his little sister, it was _sickening_!But he had to do it. Not for him, not for his little sister, not for his father but for his beloved mom.

Haru dashed off to the opposite side of the town and deeper into the forest. Kintora and Fuyushi followed after.

* * *

It was already morning when Naruto had opened his eyes. Turned to his side to look at Kakashi but he wasn't lying on the couch anymore. He propped himself to his elbows and turned his head around. Sakura wasn't on the bed anymore. He rushed to the front door and put his sandals on as quickly as he could. He went downstairs immediately, afraid he got left behind. Although, he calmed down when he saw Kakashi and Sakura eating in a booth in the cafeteria downstairs. They both sat on opposite ends of the table. He approached the couple and sat beside Sakura.

"Ohayo, Kakashi, Sakura-chan!" He put an arm around the kunoichi beside her while she tried to pull away.

"What happened to you? You seem awfully jolly today." Kakashi said calmly.

"Oh nothing!" He cheered. "I just had a good night's sleep!" He withdrew his hand and placed them on the table. "So, Sakura-chan, what'd I miss?"

"Well..." She looked at the silver-haired jounin across the table from the corner of her eye. He was shaking his head slightly. "Nothing! We were just talking about that new jutsu Kakashi wanted to teach us!" She lied. "And we found more about those thieves!"

This is what really happened this morning.

* * *

_FLASHBACK - moments ago_

_Sakura rubbed her eyes as she felt a breeze run through her. She sat on the edge of the bed and found the window opened. She looked around and saw her sensei putting on his sandals._

_"Kakashi-sensei? Where are you going so early in the morning?" She rose from the bed and walked towards the opened window and shut it close._

_"Going downstairs. Someone just knocked and told me someone was looking for me, wanting to talk about something." He finished up putting on his sandals and grabbed the door knob. "I'm also going to have breakfast. You wanna come with?"_

_And somehow, that invitation made her feel like her stomach flipped over. "Su-Sure. Just go on ahead. I-I'll catch up." She didn't know why but she suddenly felt nervous, like that time yesterday when she was trapped against the door. She was shaken up._

_He opened the door and was about to step outside. Halfway out, Kakashi's uncovered eye narrowed at her. "You okay? You look like you have a fever."_

_"N-No! I'm fine. Just..." She ran towards the Copy NIn and pushed him out of the room. "JustGoOnAheadAndI'llCatchUp!" She said quickly as she closed the door behind her. She pressed her back against the door and gradually sank down to a sitting position. What had gotten into her? Since what happened yesterday, she couldn't help but feel awkward around him. She shook it all out of her head and put her sandals on. 'Just act natural, like you did when you were 12, for Kami's sake!' she thought to herself. She took in a deep breath and let it out._

_She opened the door and stepped out of the room. Although, after she closed the door, she froze on the spot. Seeing that Kakashi was standing beside the door, his back pressed against the wall and one foot crossed over the other. It felt like every part of her body was paralyzed and numb. Even though she couldn't see it, her face turned a light shade of pink, a little lighter than her hair but it was enough for anyone to notice. Kakashi looked at her from the corner of his eye. When he saw her flushed in pink, he turned his head to her and brought a hand to her forehead._

_"Are you sure you're feeling okay?"_

_The feeling of his gloved hand on her forehead felt... In a way, nice. It was warm, soft... And how warm would it be without the gloves? The kunoichi realized she was daydreaming already so she jerked her head away from his hand. He positioned himself to stand in front of her properly._

_"Y-Yeah! I'm totally fine! Don't worry about me!" She turned him around to face the other direction. "Let's go. I'm hungry." She pushed him towards the elevator. 'The elevator's surely crowded at this time of day. It's breakfast time!' she thought to herself._

_The jonin pressed the elevator button and both of them waited in silence. As soon as the elevator arrived, Sakura felt even more nervous than she had moments ago. Her stomach flipped over and over and over and over again. She could feel a bead of sweat run down her temple._

_"You know, I think I forgot something in my bag and I'll just-"_

_"If it's you're wallet, you don't need to worry about paying for anything. The village is responsible for that since they called for our services in such a hurry."_

_What excuse did she have to give next? She decided to let Kakashi win and got inside the elevator with him. It was silent and awkward... Kakashi was standing in front of the door while Sakura was hugging her self behind him._

_When they both got down from the elevator, they headed to the cafeteria. Kakashi headed to one of the booths and Sakura followed immediately. He waited for Sakura to catch up with him. Once Sakura did, she saw a woman sitting across the table. Her hair was purely hazelnut in color and she was so beautiful._

_"Akiha, this is Haruno Sakura, Tsunade-sama's proud apprentice. My former student and my current teammate." Kakashi introduced her to the unfamiliar face._

_"Oh, Kakashi-kun!" She looked at Kakashi and continued speaking. "Is she the one you-" And for some reason, she didn't continue her sentence. "Nice to meet you." Akiha rose from her seat and held out her hand to Sakura. "You are adorable as THEY say." She cheered._

_"Thank you." Sakura shook her hand. "Would you mind me asking but, who's 'they'?"_

_"Oh, just some people around here saying they've seen you around. Saying you were Sweet. Smart. Talented. And very Beautiful."_

_"Sakura," Kakashi said before the brunette could even continue. "This is Kodaka Akiha-san. She works in Hidden Grass as a Chuunin exam proctor but at this time of year, she usually works like every other shinobi in Konoha."_

_"Nice to meet you too, Kodaka-sempai."_

_After the introductions, Akiha and Sakura let go of each other's hands. Kakashi told Sakura to go in the booth first. And she did. What surprised her was when Kakashi sat beside her. Of course, it was rude to tell him to sit beside Akiha so she just decided to let him be._

_"So what do you know about these people?" Kakashi said, going straight to business._

_END OF FLASHBACK_

_

* * *

_

"So," Naruto settled down. "What did we find out?"

"Shimizu Haru." Kakashi pulled out her picture and placed it on top of the table in a position that both Naruto and Sakura could see. "Daughter of Shimizu Hisashi and Shimizu Akahana." He pulled out another picture of an old man who looked like he was in the mid-40's and a picture of a woman who looked like somewhere in the age range of Kurenai. The man had white hair on the roots of his hair, which indicated he was old, and the woman had hair of red.

_Akahana_. Why did that sound familiar to Naruto?

"Younger sister of Shimizu Kintora." He brought out a picture that Akiha gave him earlier and placed it on the table. "He is the only official shinobi of their family." He was the one who looked like Naruto.

"Fuyushi, not family related but he seems to be working for the family as a servant." He pulled out the picture of a silver-haired man in a coat. "He's another shinobi who was hired years ago to protect their dear daughter."

"So why did they steal the necklace?" Naruto's eyebrow raised as he looked at the pictures over and over again, still trying to find out why Akahana sounded so familiar to him.

"We think that Haru is seeking vengeance against this village." Kakashi crossed his arms and closed his eyes as he continued explaining to the loudmouth. "Her mother died years ago when she was still young. She was killed by ninjas of this village right in front of the young girl."

"Wait, why did they kill her?!" Naruto's eyes widened.

"Same reason we're looking for them now." Sakura interrupted. "She stole the Haru necklace."

"And maybe Haru felt like she should finish what her mother started years ago, considering that she saw her mother begging her for help while she died slowly."

Naruto imagined the red haired woman begging for help, reaching out a hand as the other covered her wound. Now, he could recall.

"_Akahana_!" Naruto suddenly blurted out. "She was that woman in the ragged kimono when we saved that burning village! She was the one who knocked me out that time!"

Kakashi's eyes snapped in realization. He suddenly grabbed the photo and took a good look at it. He was right, how could he not see that? How could he not remember? He was too caught up in protecting his secret, he forgot about that. It's that or he was just really getting old.

"That's impossible, Naruto. Like I told you, she's been killed."

_'A ragged kimono. A ragged kimono.' _Sakura kept on reminding herself.

"Haru had a ragged kimono when she came to tie me up." She stated. "Maybe she disguised herself."

"Yeah!" Naruto loudly agreed with the kunoichi beside him. "It must be that!" Kakashi opened his eyes and glared at Naruto, warning him to keep it down. Naruto regained his composure and sat down properly. "So, what else do we know?"

"All we know is that one of them has expertise with paralysis." Kakashi slightly moved the picture of Fuyushi. "This one is a weapons expert." Kakashi moved Kintora's picture. "And this was has an excessive amount of chakra." He moved Haru's picture. "That's what Akiha reported this morning."

"Who's Akiha?" Naruto suddenly asked. He tilted his head to the right in confusion.

"Akiha is an old friend of mine. She works in the village. And it also happens that she was there-the night that Shimizu Akahana had died." Kakashi flipped over the red-haired woman's picture. "She was assigned to that mission with some other shinobi. She was there to see exactly what happened." He gathered all the pictures except for the picture of the old man and kept the others in one of his pockets. "This man was said to be wealthy. He lives somewhere outside of the Hidden Grass, in a mansion in the middle of the forest." After the explanation, he kept the remaining picture in his pocket.

"Now we know who they are, where they can be found and why they stole the necklace..." Sakura let Kakashi finish her sentence for her.

"We can finally get started on our training."

* * *

The sun almost reached its highest point when they went to the Hidden Grass's training grounds. Sakura and Naruto savored the new landscape in front of them. The grass was greener than the Hidden Leaf's. Of course, that was to be expected since they are in the Hidden Grass village.

"Let's get started so we you'd know what to do before sundown." Kakashi said. "Naruto!" He called out to the Kyuubi container. "Give me your hand." He handed out his own, waiting for Naruto to place his hand over his.

Naruto did as he was told. Kakashi observed the top of his hand a confirmed. "You're done." Naruto withdrew his hand from Kakashi's. "Sakura," he called out to the woman who was still carried away by the new sight. "Sakura." He repeated himself and this time, Sakura snapped out of her daze.

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei?" She said in a sweet, innocent voice. _To hell with that suffix_, Kakashi thought.

"Did Hokage-sama teach you anything about applying paralyzation and canceling it out?"

"Yeah. But for canceling it out, I need an antidote for canceling it out." She stated.

"How about for _sealing_ chakra?"

"Yes. She taught me something about hitting the chakra points like Neji does. Although, I can't really see it." She tapped her chin slightly and tried to recall what else her shishou had taught her. "But, I did memorize where all the common points are!"

_'That should be enough to stop the excessive chakra.' _Kakashi thought to himself. "Okay then, Naruto. There's a speeding train that's going to crush an old lady walking across the rail. How would you stop it?"

"Like this!" Naruto held both of his hands out, palms facing Kakashi. One of his feet were stretched backwards as the other bent forward to support the Kyuubi-possessed shinobi.

"Good, hold that pose." Kakashi said as he approached him. He adjusted the direction of Naruto's palms. "Try doing a rasengan that way." Kakashi commanded. Naruto did. He gathered his chakra to his hands and tried molding it into a circle. Once he was done, he looked at Kakashi and waited for his confirmation. Kakashi only nodded at him. "Now, try making it bigger."

"How?"

"Just let the circle go. You won't need the shape of the circle. Try forming it into a tube."

"You mean like a _tornado_?"

"Exactly."

And so Naruto tried. And tried. And tried. By the time he finally got it right, it was already past noon. Kakashi asked him to try it one more time and this time, Kakashi formed hand seals and Raikiri activated the same time Naruto had activated his tornado. The lightning scattered around the tornado, making it look bigger. The lightning soon

"That should be enough. Dismiss the jutsu." He said as he did it with his own.

_'Oh no... I'm guessing it's almost time to...' _Sakura's thoughts were cut off when a familiar voice called her from not so far.

"Oi, Sakura! Come here." Kakashi shouted at her.

_'This is it...' _Sakura thought to herself as she approached her companions to join the training.

"Sakura, where's that scroll you used back when we went to Hidden Sand last month?" He held out his hand.

"You mean my Sakura Bomb Scroll?"

"Yes." Kakashi answered.

"Right here." She opened the kunai pouch that clung onto her leg. She pulled out a red scroll with japanese writings.

"Don't move, Naruto. Memorize that position. Every position of your body parts count, especially your feet so you can support yourself." Kakashi snatched the scroll away from her hands and spread it wide in front of Naruto. "Sakura, you will activate the scroll in front of Naruto while we activate the Lightning Tornado."

"You want me to activate it in front of Naruto?!!" She gasped.

"Yes, but don't worry, you won't be facing him, you'll be facing the same direction he'll be facing." He walked away from Naruto and the scroll to examine the position.

"Wait, won't I be caught in the tornado?" Sakura asked, dumbfounded. Surely Kakashi wasn't planning on what she think he was planning.

"That's the point, Sakura." Kakashi replied. "You will be _INSIDE_ the tornado while you activate that scroll." Sakura gave him a dumbfounded look. "In the middle, to be precise." Still, he could see some worry in her eyes. "Maybe I should show you what I mean. Na-"

"No!" She interrupted. "It's fine! I'll do it on my own." She said as she declined Kakashi's offer. She didn't know why but when he said he would show her... It kind of made her feel nervous than when she found out she had to be _INSIDE_ the jutsu. This was something new to her. Never in her life had she been inside a tornado.

She positioned herself in front of Naruto. She crouched behind the scroll. Behind her, the blonde readied his chakra and released his giant rasengan. Being trapped inside the tornado, Sakura stood still, trying not to get caught in Naruto's wind jutsu.

Meanwhile, Kakashi was waiting for the Sakura Bombs to come flying out of the tornado but not even a shadow of Sakura's jutsu came out of the tornado. He ordered Naruto to stop his chakra. After that was done, Sakura was dumbfounded when she saw Kakashi glaring at her.

"I'm sorry. It was too much inside there. I couldn't move and-"

"Naruto," Kakashi called out as he approached the kunoichi who embraced herself. He did a couple of hand seals and summoned Pakkun. "Give Naruto the signal when I'm ready to start and stop." He ordered the dog.

"Sure thing, Kakashi!" The tiny mutt saluted to the Copy Nin. When Kakashi was finally standing behind Sakura, without her knowing, he looked at him and nodded his head. "Naruto, do it again."

"Haaaa!!" He forced out his chakra. Since he tried so many times already, he was almost drained out. The giant rasengan surrounded Kakashi and Sakura.

_'Not again..' _Sakura thought. She almost jumped out of her skin when she felt a hand settle on her shoulder. _'Please don't tell me it's..'_

"Sakura, try to move." He said softly enough, trying to comfort her. She nodded. For the first time in her life, she had never been so scared. She had seen what Naruto could do with rasengan. What more if it was this big and she was in it? "Sakura."

"I will move only when I know the speed of Naruto's ju-"

"You won't need to know anything here." Kakashi said. "You're always worried." He spun her around so she'd be facing him. "Come on, just try and execute this." Sakura has never seen him so gentle. She was still embracing herself when Kakashi got a hold of her wrists and put them out of their position. "Now release the jutsu." She shook her head stubbornly. "Are you really scared or are you just acting like a 12-year-old?" Kakashi unexpectedly asked. Her eyes snapped and she looked at his uncovered eye.

"But Naruto is-"

"Reckless, I know. And in this tornado, no one knows what can possibly happen if you touch the border." That didn't actually make her feel any better. "But if I say that I'll do what I can to keep you from the wind, will that make you feel any better?" Strangely, it did. She shyly nodded her head. "Now will you try the jutsu?" He suddenly realized he was still holding her slender wrists within his gloved hands and let go.

"Fine. But if I get tangled in the wind, it's on you!" She crossed her arms against her chest and pouted. She could feel her heart pounding faster than usual. And before she knew it, she felt her face go warm.

"Deal." He shrugged.

She turned around and knelt behind the scroll that was spread out earlier before their conversation. She did a couple of hand seals and grabbed the base of the scroll. She swung it vertically, with the writings facing the border of the wind.

"_RELEASE_!" She commanded.

Meanwhile, outside, Pakkun and Naruto were having a nice conversation.

"What do you think's happening in there?" Pakkun asked. He raised a paw to point at the Jinchuuriki's whirling chakra.

"I don't know. Sakura chickened out when I stopped it." He shrugged. "And now that Kakashi's in there, I don't think-" His sentence remained unfinished as he noticed several kunais with cherry blossoms tied at the rings. They landed on random parts of the training ground and exploded after a certain period of time.

"Naruto!" Pakkun called. "Kakashi says to try and make the wind a bit thinner! It's too thick! Loose a couple of layers!" He shouted, trying to make his voice louder than the exploding bombs around them.

"OK!" He complied. Although he didn't know what he was doing, the wind suddenly went from thick to thin. It was enough for the couple inside to see a silhouette of the surroundings outside.

Back inside, Kakashi gave another order to his current companion.

"Now, Sakura. When I say '_go_', you jump out of this storm and punch that rock over there with the chakra-sealing technique." He pointed a part of the silhouette.

"How do you know it's a-" She rose from her current position and turned around and saw his sharingan was already uncovered. "Never mind." She was staring at his mismatched orbs but was trying hard not to. It was difficult to take her eyes away from his eyes when she was mesmerized by the mismatched color. She suddenly snapped out of it when she noticed she was staring at him for some time. "I don't want to!!!" She shook her head.

"Just trust me." Kakashi said calmly. "You'll be fine. I have a plan."

"But-!!!"

"Sakura, just trust me, okay?" He placed a hand on her shoulder. He had this... Gentle look in his eyes that could comfort her just by thinking about it now that the image was burned in a part of her brain. "Do you trust your sensei?"

"But... I.." She released a sigh and just admitted her defeat. "Yes..."

She looked so worried and scared. When had he last seen her like that? When Sasuke left the village? Their first training? He was so carried away that Kakashi couldn't refrain bringing his masked lips to kiss her forehead. "Good girl." Sakura didn't mind at all. She didn't find it awkward that time. It was comforting and sweet. Kakashi removed his hand from her shoulder, realizing what he had just done. When Sakura turned away from him, his eyes snapped widely at his surprise. 'What just happened?' he thought to himself. He froze right there, behind her.

"Kakashi-sensei, anytime now..." She wore her gloves to prevent her from damaging her hands. She gathered the right amount of chakra and the right type to her hands.

Kakashi suddenly was brought back from his thoughts to reality. He formed several seals and lightning was suddenly seen on the palm of his hands. _"GO!" _He shouted. He used the lightning to cut a path through the thin layer of the rasengan before Sakura reached the border of Naruto's jutsu. It was successful. She managed to punch the large rock that Kakashi had pointed out earlier.

"Naruto, _desist_!" Pakkun commanded.

Naruto stopped the flow of his chakra and collapsed to the ground, flat on his stomach. There, he saw Sakura, standing in front of the rock she just crushed, panting heavily. He took a look at Kakashi who was leaning forward, his hands resting on his knees to support his body weight while he breathed heavily.

"I guess I'm done here." Pakkun shrugged and disappeared in a flash, leaving behind a small layer of smoke.

"You okay, Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

"Just dandy..."

"What about you, Sakura?"

"Still nervous." She walked towards Naruto, still breathing heavily. She brought one of his arms around her neck and helped him stand up on his feet. "Naruto... Please tell me you can control that jutsu."

"Sure I can!" Naruto cheered. "Don't worry, I won't do anything to hurt you, Sakura-chan!" He wasn't sure how Sakura had overcome her fears but he was pretty sure Kakashi had something to do with it. "That was fun." Naruto quickly added. "I think I have a good name for it." Sakura and Kakashi looked at the blonde curiously. "_Lightning Tornado Violence_!"

"What's with the violence?" Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"It's for your punches, Sakura-chan!" He cheered. "They're all too _violent_." Sakura and Kakashi couldn't argue with that fact.

Soon enough, they came back to the hotel they were staying in. They rested for a few hours before going to the cafeteria to get something to eat. Naruto had attempted to leave them alone for many times but when he does, it doesn't turn out the way he wants it. It's either Kakashi would say something to make him stay or Sakura would go with him. The blonde wasn't really sure what was going on between them but whenever all three of them were silent, the atmosphere was some-what... Awkward.

* * *

Meanwhile, somewhere in the forest, Kintora was taking a walk to freshen his mind. He disguised himself as a civilian to prevent him from taking attention from the Hidden Grass shinobis. His hair gradually turned from yellow to brown before he entered the giant gates of the Hidden Grass. He went to an old burnt building somewhere in the village and there, he sat on a pile of burnt wood. He pulled out a picture of a red-haired woman from his pocket.

_'Mama...' _He thought to himself. _'I know you don't hold a grudge against Hidden Grass... But I promised you and papa that I'd help keep Haru happy. But what if this is what made her happy? Would you still approve?'_ He looked back at the burnt site. _'Should I stop her?' _He folded the picture he was currently holding. _'It sickens me to follow every order that my spoiled sister gives me. But I have to... Or else papa would not acknowledge me any longer. And sometimes I... No... It always feels like this. Papa doesn't care about me. He only cares about that spoiled sister of mine. He only sees me as a bodyguard to Haru like Fuyushi!' _He cursed and he cursed his sister over and over again. _'My freedom as a shinobi is suppressed by that witch!' _Tears welled up in his eyes as he cursed his sister over and over again. _'The dream that I've already reached was taken away from me because of that spoiled devil!'_

Slowly, day turned into night as he kept on crying there, cursing his sister for hours. Since his younger sister was born, never had he once feel his father's love. He has hated his sister ever since the day she was born. His father promised him he would show up when he was to be announced a full pledged shinobi when he was young. However, his graduation ceremony was as the same date her sister was born. Since then, he has hated his sister. His father wasn't there for him when he reached his dream but he was there, right behind Haru when he destroyed it, when he ordered his son to protect the young girl.

_Protect her or I will never see you as my son or a shinobi for the rest of my life! _That sentence kept running through his mind-his father's threat.

* * *

That's it! At least now you know something about the enemies! All in all, the blonde enemy, Shimizu Kintora, hates Haru, the mastermind of the plan and his younger sister. He's just forced to do it because he promised his mother and father and because his father threatened him. Fuyushi is just a hired shinobi/servant to protect Haru.

**Next chapter!** Sakura and Kakashi gets stuck in the elevator! Haru decides to finally get her plans into action and attacks the Hidden Grass! Team Kakashi's strategies aren't completely polished yet! How will they stand against Haru and her companions who already have the Haru necklace in possession? Tune in for the next chapter: Dear Mother!

**Randomly speaking:** YES! I finally uploaded this! You guys have no idea how hard it was to find the right words to say. I've had a hard time looking for an inspiration to write this chapter! I had to read a few manga chapters to get myself motivated. Don't worry. I'll be more focused on this fanfic since my NaruSaku fanfic[How Will I Get Over You?] is now over. Thanks for reading!


	7. Dear Mama

**Disclaimer:****__**_I do not own Naruto series nor the Shippuden series. No, I do not own the characters either. Masashi Kishimoto does. It's his Shonen manga and somehow, I feel disappointed at him in the current state._

**_

* * *

_**

**Chapter 7 - Dear Mama**

She didn't know how much time they had left; none of them did. They didn't know when Haru was going to strike but they knew it would be soon. It would be all over soon. They could feel it go under their skin. Especially Sakura, who had never been nervous about these kind of things before. Usually, she would be excited about facing a new opponent, discovering new jutsus and new kinds of people. People with their new, and sometimes twisted, reasons of living. But this time, she felt nervous. Why? Was it because their opponent had a necklace that could double her strength? She has excessive chakra and who knows what she could do with it. Or was it because of the jutsu they just practiced moments ago? Why did it bother her to be with Kakashi inside Naruto's jutsu? She never really felt awkward around him before the mission. Whether he would carry her bridal style during their previous missions when she was injured, whenever he grabs her by the waist to avoid the opponents' attacks, whenever they would eat lunch out together when Naruto was with his girlfriend, not once did she feel awkward around him. But now... Just by one look from him... It was all too much!

She had just finished taking a bath and entered the main room of their hotel unit, fully dressed with a towel slung over her shoulder. Naruto was still peacefully taking a nap on the bed and Kakashi... Well, he was no where in sight. And she thanked the heavens for that because if the sight of him acknowledging her entrance would be the one sight to greet her, she would surely not know what to say. Heck, she would go back in the bathroom in two seconds flat just to escape his gaze. But now, she was alone. She took the towel off of her shoulder and dried her hair off with it. She heard Naruto shuffle on the bed and found his eyes open when she turned to look at him.

"Good evening, Naruto." She greeted. She continued to dry her hair while the blond tried to get up. "Nice nap?" The blond only nodded in response, obviously still groggy from his nap. "Dream?" He 'mmhm'd' in response and made his way to the couch to sit and try to stir away his sleepiness. "Hinata again?" She marched to sit beside her teammate because he looked like he was ready to talk.

"Yeah. It was great." He grumbled lazily. "We were on a date and somewhere else and we were happily eating ramen and-" He was broken off by Sakura's light giggles. He lazily turned to look at her and raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You know, I never really thought of you as... Sort of grumpy when you wake up. I always thought you'd be perky and cheerful... Especially from a good nap and a nice dream." She chuckled. Although, her seemingly endless chain of laughter had to end sometime.

"Well, I sometimes am. Especially when I'm _really_ worn out." He stretched his hands upwards as a yawn escaped his lips. He scanned the room and saw there were no signs of the silver haired Jonin. "So, where's Kakashi-sensei?"

She shrugged. "Dunno. I stepped out of the bathroom, he wasn't there anymore. He probably went out for his walks or maybe met up with that _Akiha_-girl again. Who knows?" She said the other woman's name with an attitude and Naruto couldn't help but smirk at her. And since Sakura could see through his wicked smile easily, she could read what was on his mind. "I am _not_ jealous, okay?"

Naruto shrugged. "Never pointed out you were." He was rewarded with a slap on his shoulder and instead of sobbing out, he rubbed his shoulder and laughed it all out. Soon his laughs faded and he faced her with nothing but a stern look on his face. A look that Sakura had recognized as the look he'd pulled off whenever he was to talk about something really important. "Seriously, you should go talk to him now that you know what he's keeping in that book."

"Why?"

"Aren't you in the least a bit curious _why_ he has a picture of you stuck in that Icha Icha book." Sakura only looked at him with a disturbed expression. "I know it sounds wrong on so many levels... But get _those_ thoughts off of your mind and look underneath the underneath."

"First of all, _no_, I'm not curious why." She lied. "Second, I wasn't thinking those thoughts you thought I was thinking. And third, there's nothing underneath the underneath in his case. Everything he shows us is _real _about him. Strong-willed, professional and comrade-caring. He can keep a picture of me if he wants." She stood up from the couch to put away her towel, leaving Naruto sitting alone on the couch.

It was so obvious to the world, if not only to him, that she was in complete denial. She and Kakashi were _so_ compatible in ways that even he can't see. They both loved denying their feelings, they both loved to put the things that _seem_ unnecessary to them behind them and they tried so hard to act professional, even though they don't know their acts were losing their touches. Being the one to hook up Shikamaru and Temari by seeing they obviously had feelings for each other, why didn't Sakura see that Kakashi was obviously head over heels for her. And why didn't Kakashi see that Sakura had already considered him entering an area in her heart which she had only opened once for the Uchiha? She already thought of the possiblity and she hasn't stopped ever since. She was starting to consider in thinking of him that way and even Naruto wasn't that dense. He could clearly see it by the way she'd look at him in between meals, when he walks away, she would watch his back... And Naruto could even image Sakura trying to get a glimpse of Kakashi while he was asleep. According to Shikamaru, Asuma had told him about how Kakashi set him up with Kurenai and ended up being lovers. Heck, even the old man could sense when people have feelings towards one another! And yet he couldn't see what was just under his masked nose.

He tried to find the right word to describe both of them and _farsighted_ fit them perfectly. They could see how people from afar care about someone and yet they couldn't bring themselves to see what was right in front of them. They were _farsighted_, metaphorically speaking. And he just stirred up a plan to cure them...

* * *

His leg was dangling on the side of the building while his other leg was folded against his chest while his elbow rested on top. It was already dark. The Copy Nin was casually sitting on the rooftop of the hotel, his chakra completely masked to prevent from his companions from knowing he was near. He was thinking about what had happened earlier. About everything that had recently happened. About how Sakura tried to... _complicate_ things, about how he had vented to her, about how Akiha told Sakura her she was beautiful... And that was just _great_. Even his former partner was trying to expose him.

He thought of how much she had grown throughout the years... How he had not seen _this_ coming. Their first encounter was when Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke were still Genin. Back then, Sakura was still weak, naive, fragile and very much kept in her shell, trapped in her own world. But hell, if Sasuke didn't leave the village, she would never had come out of that shell to face the real world and she never would faced Tsunade and requested to be an apprentice. She never would be the woman she was right now- kind-hearted, smart, strong, open-minded, bold and much more beautiful than she could ever be. The fact that she was powerful enough to face Sasori of Akasuna, it still amazed him to no end.

He shook his head and erased the thought. He knew it was wrong. This was wrong. The way he thought of her was wrong. No doubt if she found out, everything would just confuse her. He wasn't even sure if she had looked at him that way. A sigh escaped his masked lips as he rubbed the back of his hung head with the hand that wasn't resting on his knee. If Asuma was here right now, he'd be giving him a lecture about how he should tell her and when all others oppose, he should fight for his rights to be attracted to a woman and about how he wasn't just a shinobi but he was also a man underneath his image. Behind that masked face was a _real_ man with a _real _heart and _real_ feelings. The most of their world knew of him as an emotionless highly-ranked ninja, a heartless professional and a jutsu thief. His face was in the Bingo book, listed as a dangerous killer... But something that no Bingo book could ever show was the _real_ Kakashi. One that had feelings, one that had secrets to hide, one that had people to actually care about and one that could consider a woman much more important than his own life.

Why was he even thinking of these things? In a few hours or days, everything would be over. His _life_, he hoped, would be over so he wouldn't have to go through this much trouble. Honestly, Naruto's big mouth was much more of a burden to him than the mission itself. He was more worried about the awkwardness he knew Sakura had felt. Especially in that jutsu... Which flashed him back to that moment he had kissed her forehead. What got into his silver head that pushed him to do that? Was it because he could sense how frightened and nervous she was back then? Or was it because he got too caught up in the privacy and took advantage of Sakura's freaked out state? That was just great. Now he _did_ start to think like a dirty old man.

* * *

Just the sound of the door opening made her stomach turn over. He was back from... Well, only God knew where he had gone off to. She didn't turn to look at him or acknowledge his presence. Instead, she continued doing what she was supposed to be doing, molding chakra. She should at least charge her chakra for the upcoming battle. While she sat quietly on the floor, facing the window, Naruto got out one of the magazines in the bathroom and decided to read them, not that he cared about what his eyes were running over, it was just to pass the time and kill boredom.

"Who's hungry?" Kakashi questioned.

"I am!" Naruto suddenly blurted out. "Are you going out for food, Kakashi-sensei?" He cheered wide-eyed-ly. However, in the back of his mind, he smirked. It was almost time to put his plan into action.

"Sure. You wanna come with me?" Naruto shook his head in response and gestured him to ask Sakura. Kakashi shook his head but Naruto gave him a warning glare. He sighed and gave in. "What about you?"

Sakura had been listening to their conversation. But then, when he sprang up the second question, she suddenly felt his gaze burning a hole through her back. She opened her eyes and turned her head to look at Kakashi. "I still have to work on my chakra, considering I've lost some when I healed Naruto when we got here." She looked at Naruto who was looking back at her with a smug look on his face. She knew he knew that she was declining the invitation because she avoided being alone with him. She glared at the blond and acted to keep him from thinking that way. "But then again, I am feeling a little hungry _and_ bored... So.. _Sure_!" She immediately rose from her position and walked to the door and put her sandals on. She looked back at Kakashi and called him so they could buy the food.

Both of them made their way to the elevator while Naruto followed behind, acting like he was still unsure of what he wanted. One minute he craved for beef ramen, the next he says he misses the taste of chicken ramen. "But then again, pork ramen is always the best, no matter the establishment." He added. Sakura and Kakashi were so relieved the minute the elevator's doors shut close when Kakashi pushed the '_GF_' button. They were supposed to be there in a few seconds but the estimated time seemed to stretch on forever... And with Naruto's devious plan, it would stretch longer. Back on the floor where Naruto still was, he pressed his hand against the elevator button and gathered his chakra and tried to mess with the elevator. And it worked! He chuckled to himself, knowing that the elevator would stop in a few seconds and made his way back into their room while whistling cheerfully.

The pink haired woman on one corner of the elevator with her back pressed on the wall soon found herself regretting that she had come with him to buy their meal since it was just the two of them inside the stuffy elevator. Kakashi, however, kept his cool and tried not to break an awkward conversation between them. Kakashi and Sakura felt the elevator shake a little and before they knew it, they were staring at nothing but black inside the elevator. The kunoichi fought the urge to whimper or scream out loud when the lights went out. She wasn't afraid of the dark but it did freak her out when the lights went out unexpectedly... Especially now, with Kakashi... All alone... In a stuffy elevator. _This is bad_, she thought to herself. It was silent and there were only two of them there. Someone had to break the silence sometime and the silver haired Jonin was the first to take the step.

"Hm..?" He folded his arms and shook his head in disapproval. "Naruto's messing around again." He released a sigh of annoyance after his statement.

"How do you know that?" She suddenly asked. He didn't really expect her to ask... In fact, he didn't even expect her to talk on their way to the cafeteria.

"I can smell Naruto's chakra on the electrical wirings of the elevator." He sighed and leaned back against the wall of the elevator and brought one foot crossed over the other. "Well, best thing to do is just wait until the technicians arrived." He moved his hitai-ate to cover both of his eyes. He didn't actually think of sleeping while waiting for the elevator to be fixed. He just wanted to organize his thoughts and think of a way to apologize for the kiss earlier.

"Oh..." She had to think of something to say in the least. "Kakashi... I just wanted to-"

"Sakura," He said, interrupting her. "I want to apologize for my actions earlier..." The pink haired woman's eyes snapped at his apology. She never expected him to say that. Not now that they were both trapped in a small, stuffy elevator. "I got too caught up in the moment to even catch myself. I am very much sorry."

Sakura couldn't help but roll her eyes. So what? It was just one kiss? Did it bother him that much? "Kakashi, it's fine. I'm not mad at you for it. I was actually going to thank you for it... It was kind of sweet. You don't need to be sorry. And thank you..." She could feel her face heating up as the words escaped her mouth. If the lights weren't out, Kakashi would surely notice her Hinata-worthy blush right now.

Clearly, she didn't get the point. It wasn't like Kakashi wasn't relieved that she wasn't not bothered by it but he was apologizing for something much more than that. She was her student for crying out loud!

"No Sakura, it's not that." The Copy Nin had a hard time figuring out how to explain this to her but he had to. "Listen, we had a student-teacher relationship. It's not likely for me to do that since you were my student at one point. That's why I'm apologizing."

"Fine..." Sakura mumbled. "But that's exactly my point. We _had_ a student-teacher relationship. Now, were _teammates_. And I'm sure even Kurenai kissed Kiba's forehead back then." Sakura laughed at the image that she had just painted in her mind.

"That was _back then_. Back when you were Genin, young..."

"How does _now _make a difference?" Sakura snapped. The silver haired Jonin couldn't find an answer to that question. She was right. How come he did seem to be bothered by it? How come she seemed so calm about what happened and all this time, that was what he was thinking about? "Kakashi, can't you just say it's sweet? Besides, if you didn't do it, we still wouldn't have finished the jutsu."

"Fine."

This was Sakura's chance and she wasn't going to blow it. "Now that you've apologized about something, I'm going to return the favor." She took a deep breath and sighed softly. "I'm sorry..." She said, almost whispering to herself.

"About what?"

"I..." She couldn't believe she was going to admit it but she had to. She gathered every bit of courage in her body and she knew it was't enough. "I peeked in your novel when you were in the bathroom last night..." She didn't hear Kakashi respond for quite sometime, obviously surprised. She took the chance to explain further. "It's not that I wanted to! It's just that Naruto told me to... And the other thing about jumping at you when you were at the door... I'm sorry. It's ju-"

Sakura heard a thud on either side of her head. She tried to make out what it was but it was too dark. That was until she heard a familiar voice right in front of her. "What did you see in the novel?" He had caged her in just like back at the room. Kakashi's voice was low, stern and very much frightening. He sounded annoyed and very much angry.

"I'm sorry, okay?" Clearly, they had a lot of serious things to talk about but the fact that they were in a stuffy elevator in this position wasn't exactly terminating the presence of the awkwardness. She brought her hands to her chest, one held in the other. She felt the body heat of the man in front of her. Although her body had been seeking for more, she had to restrain herself from moving closer to him and tried to continue with focus. "I'm not mad at you for having my picture in there... It's not like I want to take it from you. All I want to know is _why_... Why did you have my picture in there?"

Kakashi didn't want to answer that question. Why? Because he didn't have any answer other than _'because you're what makes me stop my bad habit... you're the one that can get me to stop when no one can.'_ He, to hell, would never tell her that. _Yet_. He was debating whether to or not to and the '_right'_ thing overruled his mind.

"I don't have an answer to that..." She felt his body heat increase and she guessed he moved forward. "Now let me ask you something." Her body shivered as Kakashi whispered the words in her earlobe. His hot breath against her ear made her too crazy to even push him away. She was addicted to the feeling already. Their bodies were only mere inches away from each other. In fact, his flack jacket was almost touching the hands on her chest that Sakura clasped in front of her earlier. "Sakura... What got into you when you jumped on me the night we got here?"

Just as Sakura expected, he still didn't forget it, to her dismay. Fortunately for her, the lights turned back on and they felt the elevator shake a little. There was a small sound of clanking metal above them and they both looked above both of them. There was a kunai stabbed on the ceiling of the elevator and it moved as if it was a can opener opening a can of sardines. _A stern sardine and a relieved sardine._ The cut was shaped 3/4 of a square and the cut part was lifted.

"Akiha, Naruto." Kakashi called out, hands in his pockets and trying to look casual like he's always been.

Sakura never got the chance to register the thought on how he backed away from her so quickly without her noticing for the couple crouching above them urgently dictated the situation outside.

"Haru attacked!" Naruto yelled. The kunoichi below them widened her eyes in shock while the other shinobi just remained calm.

He was expecting this. In fact, he thought it would happen earlier than he anticipated. It was only a few days but he didn't complain. The sooner the mission was over, the better. The three of them could go back to Konoha, live their normal lives-if they _did_ come out of the battle alive. Heck, Kakashi could just die without a care in the world. Whether he chose to die immediately or live longer, he was still going to hell when he exited this world.

"She has no shame like her mother, wearing that necklace as if it was made for them..." Akiha snarled. "Let's go! Kintora already damaged a third of the village with his weapons in the last few minutes. Who knows what he could do if we let him be longer!" Akiha disappeared from Naruto's side with a poof of smoke.

"Come on, guys!" Naruto called out.

Sakura didn't bother to look at the Copy Nin who was still standing across her, mostly because she was feeling a little awkward, and agreed with Naruto and leaped through the hole and stood beside Naruto with crossed arms.

"I'll find Akiha and join her." Sakura stated before disappearing in the same manner as Akiha.

Naruto looked down on the silver-haired shinobi beneath him with a raised brow. Feeling eyes burning on the scalp of his head, he raised his head and narrowed down his eyes on the Kyuubi host. "You really have bad timing, Naruto."

"You were about to _kiss _her, weren't you?" Naruto kidded. Of course, as expected, Kakashi just continued glaring at the blond.

"Shut up. Let's get going and get this mission over with already." Kakashi grumbled beneath his mask.

Before Naruto knew it, he was tailing behind a stern and bloodshed-ready Copy Ninja, heading to the area Akiha told Naruto about: the road from the village's Northern gate up to somewhere near the village's Eastern gate. It was the place Kintora had already destroyed with his tools just moments ago, which meant he couldn't be that far from the said area.

As they moved closer, smoke started to welcome them and it grew thicker as they proceeded through. Halfway toward their destination, a set of clone kunais were thrown at their direction. Naruto effortlessly dodged them like Kakashi did as they increased their pace. _He_ was here. Shimizu Kintora was close and Naruto could feel his gut flipping over several times. Finally, both shinobis came to a halt as they spotted a familiar silhouette from the thicker layer of smoke they were about to set foot in. It came closer. Closer. And at last, an evil-grinning blond stood in front of them, a scroll in one hand and weapons in the other.

"Uzumaki-kun. Hatake-kun. It's been some time." He greeted formally and smugly. The Copy Nin gruffed under his face mask while the other clicked his tongue and started his barks.

"What are do you plan on doing with the village?" Blurted Naruto directly to the point, wasting no time.

"I don't plan on doing _anything_ with this pathetic village." He shrugged as he stated it in a _as-a-matter-of-fact_ voice. "Ask _my_ _little sister_. _She's _the one picking a fight with you. I'm only here to be the distraction under _her _orders."

Naruto growled and frowned at the sound of his voice. He looked at his sensei and asked him to go on. "I'll handle him myself." Naruto insisted. They didn't have time to argue about it so he just got back on track and raced away from them, bidding Naruto good luck. Naruto turned his focus back to the blond in front of him and his frown deepened. "Taking orders from your _little sister_?" Teased Naruto, his frown growing into a mocking smirk. "You're pathetic."

"I know, it's sickening." He agreed. He acted like Shikamaru. This blond in front of him acted lazy, like he wasn't even setting his mind into what he was doing. He, obviously, didn't second the idea of attacking the village since he looked so annoyed when the Kyuubi host mentioned the words _little sister_ much like Shikamaru when someone mentioned the words _paper work._ "But then again, there's no other option." He shrugged.

Crouching down, Kintora set the wide scroll he held in front of him and threw the weapons in the other hand to Naruto. The Jinchuuriki thought fast and jumped into mid air to avoid the kunais and shurikens.

"Kai!" Grunted the man crouching down. Nothing came out of the scroll, which surprised Naruto. But he noticed the man's fingers move. The same way Kankuro did when he controlled his puppet.

_If he wasn't summoning anything... Then-_. His thoughts were trailed off when he looked behind him. The weapons that he just avoided turned back and chased after him. _CRAP!_ Naruto gruffed under his breath. He made a clone and used it to shield himself from the weapons.

"There's more to me than using weapons, Uzumaki-kun!" Kintora chuckled.

Naruto wasn't trying to figure out how he did it but he did. It was easy to read through the way his fingers moved. _He can control weapons through chakra strings._ Naruto thought to himself. He landed a few feet in front of the blond weapon expert in a crouching position, catching his breath.

"You can do puppetry." Naruto regained his composure and smirked his opponent. "Only, not with a puppet. And you don't do it naturally. You need that scroll to gain the ability to do so."

Kintora returned the Jinchuuriki's smirk and shrugged as he replied. "Hm. Never really thought of you as very observant." He rose from his position and crossed his arms across his chest. "When we read your file, it simply stated you were a talkative and loud one. And you lose your temper easily. Nothing there said you were one to analyze and opponent." He said confidently.

"Looks like you were too confident and gave away your stunt's secret." He made several clones and some rushed into random directions, disappearing into the thick layer of smoke, while the others stayed with Naruto. "We're going to make you pay for destroying this village!"

_As expected,_ Kintora thought to himself. He continued moving his fingers and the weapons whipped back to his side swiftly and gracefully. Naruto figured he was one like Deidara, seeing his jutsu as something beautiful and trying to make it look that way.

* * *

Kakashi was thrown back, landing on his side on the dusty road. He braced himself, trying to ignore the pain although it was still there. Fuyushi walked cautiously in front of him, right after he knocked the Copy Nin with his forearm. He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to get rid of the knots that were formed there. He didn't want to use it as an excuse if he lost this fight.

"Let me through, Fuyushi, and I promise you your safety and all your bones." Kakashi offered. The enormous man could only glare at his offer as he rushed forward, his fist glowing white with chakra.

"These are orders from Haru-sama." He indicated. Leaping backwards to avoid his attack, Kakashi didn't hesitate to listen to what the bigger had to say. "What she say goes for that is my purpose!"

"What purpose?" Interrogated Kakashi.

"To make sure what she says is done! To make sure her goals are accomplished! To make sure her lips are always curved into a smile!"

"Even if it means you have to turn your back on your own village? Your home?" Kakashi asked bluntly. He needn't to worry about his attacks as a reaction. He wanted to hear him talk.

* * *

"WHAT THE HELL?" Sakura exclaimed in hushed tones as she caught up with the sight in front of her. A pink haired woman was walking casually but with an aggressive expression towards the village's mansion... Glowing in chakra! As she walked, chakra dripped from her body, as if she just walked out of the shower and those were droplets of water.

"She must be going for the Daimyo!" Akiha assumed.

It was no surprise. It's only been a few years since the murder began. The Daimyo who ordered the assassination of Haru's mother must still be the Daimyo in the current date. Akiha and Sakura had their chakras masked while they hid in an alley across the mansion. Although, useless, since Haru had turned her head to their direction.

"You!" Yelled Haru as she looked at the brunette beside the pink haired kunoichi. Her voice cracked a little. Konoha's kunoichi could see the presence of tears in her eyes. "You were one of those people the Daimyo sent to kill my mama!"

Both hiding kunoichis were stunned to learn that their opponent had such a memory she'd remember someone who wasn't even worth to be remembered. Akiha was just at the assassination to _escort_ the main assassin. Besides, she couldn't recall that young girl even look at her or acknowledge her _that_ night. And yet, here she was, ready to kill her even though she wasn't the real murderer. Besides, the mission wasn't to kill her mother. It was to retireve the necklace. But her mother refused to hand it over to them and vowed that only death would make her return it. They had no choice. The mission's file stated that they had to get the necklace back, no matter the cost. Akiha had filled Sakura in with this information when the pink haired kunoichi caught up with her and as they ran to look for the main threat.

Sakura and Akiha both emerged from the darkness of the alley and warily and slowly paced toward her, trying not to scare her or tempt her into a fight. They only wanted the necklace back, it was the only way to avoid a fight. But before they could even dictate to her their intentions, Haru formed several seals and summoned an enormous rat. It was almost as big as the mansion.

"You will die!" Were her final words before she leaped on to the back of the rodent. Its giant tail lifted off of the ground and swayed back and forth before it to land on their position. With a crash, it landed onto its target spot. Only, unlike the way Haru ahd expected it to be.

The tail was trapped between Sakura's chakra-enhanced palms, which enabled her to stop the tail from crushing them. This was her chance. Her chance to show Haru was she was really made of. She increased the amount of chakra placed in her hands as she wrapped her arms on the tail and tugged on it. She made it look like it was easy enough to do but it wasn't. Akiha only observed her strategy because she knew there was nothing more she could do at that point. The gigantic creature went out of balance and fell to its side with a loud thud. Haru jumped to the nearest rooftop to prevent herself from getting caught in the creature's fall. With a poof, the rat disappeared before their very eyes, leaving behind a thin layer of white smoke.

Sakura growled to herself as her jaw clenched while she turned to look at their opponent. "You have to go through _me _before you can kill the Daimyo of this village!" She vowed. The way she had said reflected onto Naruto's determination when he protected someone. Although, she didn't ponder on that matter any longer. Turning her head to face the brunette, Sakura ordered her to stay back.

"But-" She was cut of by Sakura.

"This is _our team's_ mission." She reminded her. "I'll call for you if I have any trouble. For now, just stay back." She ordered, positioning herself in a fighting stance. Haru jumped from the rooftop to the ground, a few feet away from her opponent. She also took in a fighting stance and cried out as she rushed to attack Sakura.

* * *

It has almost been an hour since Naruto was dodging Kintora's shurikens and kunais. To his surprise, the weapons moved much faster than he anticipated them to be. And from time to time, another weapon would be added to the batch that was chasing him. Both blonds exchanged glares and comebacks from time to time.

"How can you let someone order you around?" Naruto chuckled in a mocking tone as he dodged another set of weapons. "And of all people, you chose your younger sister!" He landed on his feet, sliding backwards a little. "Is she some sort of _royalty_?"

The veteran weapon user flinched at his question. He didn't respond immediately as he swung his arm back, tugging onto the strings of several weapons to go after Naruto. Again. And after a few tugs, he rested his arms a little and finally replied.

"To my father, she is." He said with a scowl.

* * *

Kakashi rested for a moment, sitting down on Fuyushi's back as the giant lay on the dusty road, flat on his stomach and his head turned to the side. He grunted at Kakashi's weight on his back. The Copy Nin covered his scarred eye and started a conversation.

"So you say you have worked for her mother when she was young?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes." Answered the giant briefly before further explaining. "She was very young and beautiful when we met. Akahana-sama was one of the kindest people who have hired me. And she offered a huge amount of money which was to be given to me monthly if I stayed with her and protected her forever. I was a newly ANBU-ranked ninja back then and I accepted the offer." He dramatically paused and looked to a distance, catching a glimpse of a burnt building somewhere across the town. "We lived peacefully in a small house here in this village."

"You felt something else for Akahana, didn't you?" The shinobi from Konoha interrupted. "Just by the way you talk about her, that is easily read."

Fuyushi didn't respond for a long time, he remained lying there while he stared at the burnt house. He continued later on. "I'm surprised someone like you can sense that." He didn't wait for the weight on his back reply and continued with his story. "We started an affair a few months later but found out she was already fixed in marriage with Hisashi. It was her parents' doing. They wanted her to marry Hisashi for the money and Hisashi wanted her for the same reason. When they got married, I returned to being a bodyguard to her but stayed loyal. A few months after the marriage, Akahana became pregnant. Although, at Kintora's birth, Hisashi became furious for the child didn't have his brown eyes nor his wife's gray eyes.

"To his dismay, he realized it was not his son. It had _my_ blue eyes. He had hated me ever since, threatening me every time I went close to Akahana. Hisashi had also hated my son but Akahana told him that if he didn't treat _her_ son right, she would file a divorce. Hisashi needed her money. But she got very angry because one day, she came home from the market, only to find her husband almost stabbing me with a knife while I napped off my fever.

"She wanted to set me free of our deal but I was worried. Who would protect her? She said she would enter Kintora in the Hidden Grass Academy to be a shinobi so he would be able to protect her. But I wasn't convinced. I told her that until my son has graduated, I would remain by her side. One morning, as I took breakfast, she rushed to the toilet and vomitted. Our affair had stopped ever since she married and I figured it was Hisashi's child this time. Several months passed and every time Kintora would come home from the academy, he would spend time with her mother first, telling her how he had done well in the academy. Finally, the day of Kintora's graduation came and it was also the day Akahana gave birth to Haru. I was torn. I was confused and didn't know what to do.

"Finally, I decided. It wasn't my child, anyways... So I went to Kintora's academy and watched him as he graduated. I could see the frustration in his face because the man he saw as his father wasn't there for him. A year or two later, Hisashi once again, had a reason to hate Kintora. He had a daughter now. _His_ daughter. All of a sudden, Akahana snapped one day and swore to herself she would kill Hisashi. I offered to do the work but she refused. She wanted to do the dirty work herself and she wanted to do it herself. Brutally... Which drove her into stealing the Haru necklace. But she was killed when the village realized it was her. Kintora, Haru and I were the only people in that town house that night. Haru fainted due to overwhelmed emotions. Kintora and I were there the moment she passed away. She told us to do everything to keep her daughter happy... My son and I agreed to do it since she said that it would be the best and only favor she was asking us.

"Hisashi came back a few days later and discovered of the incident. Of course, Hisashi didn't know she did it to kill him so he carried a grudge against the village. Of course, he couldn't do anything about it. Hisashi blamed me because I didn't protect his wife. What could I do? I couldn't kill one of my fellow shinobis. He dealt with me, telling me that if we protected his daughter, he would let me and Kintora stay with him in that mansion in the woods and he told me it was one way for him to pardon me. Where else would we go if we didn't accept it? And then, I remembered... I promised Akahana I was going to keep her daughter happy. And so, I turned my back on the village to fulfill my duty. So that's it... Everything that had happened.

"Worst decision, agreeing to his deal. Regretted it the minute since we set foot in Hisashi's mansion. But I had to do it for Akahana, there was no other way. If I refused, Kintora and I would have nowhere else to go since the house was burned by the bastard, Hisashi. And if I took Kintora and fled off, Haru's father had the money to hire S-ranked shinobis and chase after us."

Kakashi was glad he started the conversation with him. He had just found out about something that was beyond this village's knowledge. He rose from his sitting position and offered his hand to his opponent... Or used to be.

"Will you help us stop Haru?" Fuyushi focused his eyes on the Copy Nin and smirked at his sudden change of aura, accepting his hand and getting to his feet.

"I will."

* * *

"What do you mean? How did Shimizu Hisashi get into this?" Naruto interrogated. The other clones that ran into the thick smoke earlier emerged by pairs with one Rasengan on each pair.

As he got out a scroll and spread it with one hand, making several seals with the other he answered tightly. "He's the reason I keep on following orders from that _brat_!" With a poof, a large, metallic barrier was summoned infront of him. It was twice his widht and a few feet taller. It was enough to protecet himself from Naruto's tactic. "And if only mother didn't die, then maybe someone was still thinking of me, caring about me!" His eyes stung and luckily, the barrier he had summoned prevented his enemy from seeing his tears roll down his cheek as he continued. "Do you know what it's like? HUH? Do you know how it feels to be taken away from a dream you've just reached? By someone like your own blood? When the only person who cares about you died, huh?" He continued his tirade, not knowing Naruto was dumb struck when he had realized his opponent related to him somehow. He, too, was alone.

"My mother was the only person who cared about me that much!" He resumed controlling the weapons, only this time, their movements lost every bit of grace there was in them and went for Naruto's direction in a wild, shaky throw. "My dad never cared! And when my sister was born, I was cursed! I knew from then he would never acknowledge me! I never knew why he always gave me the cold shoulder while he spoiled Haru! Though I did everything to please him, he never once turned and told me he was _proud_ of me! And now, I was given a chance to prove myself by following his orders but he still sees me as a tool! A shinobi hired to defend his daughter and not as a son who protects his sister! They both stole my freedom! Mostly my sister!" He swore over and over while Naruto continued to listen.

"Mother..." He whispered to himself. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry but I just couldn't stop Haru... I'm sorry I disappointed you. I'm nothing but a useless son. I couldn't stop her from holding a grudge against _our_ _real_ home. I give up! There's nothing else I can do! I've failed you... I _have_ to go with this."

"You don't have to give up." Naruto grumbled under his breath. It was loud enough for Kintora to hear. "There's always another way. You don't have to do this. You don't have to get so worked up with Haru." He stood several meters away from Kintora's summoned barrier and continued. "You don't have to follow your sister if you don't want to." He noticed the barriers sink into the ground, guessing they were going back to were they came from. "You don't like the idea of you and your sister attacking this village right?" Hearing faint sobs coming from his opponents direction answered the question itself. "Of course, you don't. Who would want to attack the village that gave them their power, that gave them the right to be called a shinobi. A shinobi's purpose is to protect his village." He remained standing there as he looked at Kintora from a distance who suddenly dropped to his kness, kneeling on the scroll he had set before him as his head hung.

Kintora continued to sob. "I don't want to do this. I don't want to destroy the village I was born in, the village my mama was born in. But what can I do? Everyone ignored me! I'm all alone since mama died! Nobody cares! And all I can do for my papa to acknowledge is-" He broke off his sentence as he felt a hand rest on his shoulders. He lifted his head to look at the Kyuubi host in astonishment. Nobody has ever done that to him but his mother. But his surprise soon came to an end. Naruto's fist met his cheek and his head turned instantly.

"So what if your dad didn't acknowledge you, huh?" Naruto growled. "Are you that desperate for attention?" He cried, moving his hand from his opponent's shoulder to fisting the collar of his shirt. "There are lots of people here in Hidden Grass who can acknowledge your abilities and you wouldn't have to do all of this! You wouldn't have to do anything against you will! All you have to do is protect this village that you love so much, as simple as that. In due time, you will be able to make friends and meet new ones. You don't have to be alone as you are now."

"You were never alone, _Honda _Kintora." A deep voice said. Naruto turned his head, surprised to see Fuyushi standing before them casually behind Kakashi. The giant was obviously the one who spoke since a voice that deep could _not_ have come from the Copy Nin's voice box. But no one was much as surprised as the wide-eyed, sobbing blond. His eyes snapped as he heard her mother's surname before she married _Shimizu_ Hisashi.

"Your father was always there with you, all along." Kakashi continued. "When you were born, your childhood, your graduation, your mother's death and afterward. He was there all along. Even though you were never acknowledged by Hisashi as the person you are, your father was always watching. You and your father could have left the mansion but you and your father had no other place to go. He had no choice but to let both of you live there. It was for _your_ own good."

Kintora pushed Naruto out of the way, throwing and ran in front of Kakashi. "What are you talking about? You don't know the first thing about that Hisashi! I'll never see him as my father! I am never going to!"

"I wasn't talking about Shimizu Hisashi, boy." Shrugged the Copy Nin. He walked past the youngest of the both of them and walked towards Naruto. "He never was your father in the first place. Try to recall. Who was there all the time when Hisashi wasn't?" He asked loudly.

That was when everything flashed back to him. It was Fuyushi who had been practicing with him when he got home from the academy. It was him who watched his graduation ceremony from a distance. Fuyushi was the one who had told him _everything was going to be alright _when they entered Hisashi's mansion for the very first time.

"Sorry I never told you." Fuyushi uttered. "If I had sooner, you wouldn't be begging for Hisashi to acknowledge you as a son. You never would have went through all this trouble. You never would have suffered. And I'm sorry I don't have a last name, son. Your mother's maiden name should have to do for now."

Instead of bursting into tears or punching the silver-haired giant in the face, Kintora could simply throw his arms around his _father_'s neck. He jumped and clung onto Fuyushi while the giant simply patted his back. All Kintora did was feel this man's warmth and think of it as a true father's love. Which it was.

"So Fuyushi's that guy's dad, huh?" Naruto whispered to Kakashi. The Copy Nin only gave a single nod, not even bothering to look at Naruto as he, too, was mesmerized by the sight. Naruto got to his feet and decided to end the heartwarming event himself. _This would be a lot easier now,_ the blond thought. "So, are we going to stop Haru or what?" It didn't take long before their enemies turned allies let go of each other to face them.

"Let's do this thing, dad." Kintora said with a smirk.

"For mama?" Asked Fuyushi.

"For mama."

* * *

"Damn it all!" Haru cried out. She and Sakura had been battling through taijutsu the whole time since the giant rat disappeared. In the moment, Haru was currently embedded onto the wall of a building by Sakura's chakra-enhanced punches. A thick smoke now filled the space between the both of them. Soon, the dust disappeared altogether and Sakura could be seen standing several feet away from the building Haru was crashed into. She was panting, trying to catc her breath.

_Crap! I spent to much time in the hospital, I hardly ever train in Konoha._ Sakura thought. _My stamina reduced and now it's catching up to me._ Sakura put those thoughts at the back of her mind. She had no time to dwell on that. Haru pulled herself out from her attachment to the building and faced Sakura again.

"Heh, looks like you're exhausted!" Haru assumed.

"Not even close." _Yes I am_. "Why do you even want to kill the Daimyo, huh?"

"You must know about that by now, Haruno! I'm avenging my mama! She never did anything wrong! She just wanted the necklace so she could protect the family!" With those words, the black pendant of the necklace on her neck shined with gleaming rays of light. Sakura fixed her eyes on the unnatural sight then back to Haru. "Do you know what it's like to have the person you love the most die in front of you?"

Another avenger. _Just like Sasuke_, she realized. She hadn't been able to stop Sasuke from leaving the village back then, from going to Orochimaru to obtain the power for his revenge. Until now, she didn't know how to deal with this. Not when she didn't know the pain they were going through. This woman, in front of her, saw her mother die before her very eyes. Another common ground as Sasuke. She had to do this. She would defeat this woman with all she has.

The necklace stopped glowing, as Sakura noticed. But what surprised her the most was the fact that Haru's eyes gradually darkened its shade, soon turning to maroon, then to pitch black, the same color of the necklace. A gasp slip Sakura's lips at the sudden change.

"Now, I'm going to kill you and have your head wrapped in a towel and take it back home as a trophy for defeating the Slug-hime's apprentice!" She promised.

"Just try it."

_This is for mama..._ Haru thought as she cried out to attack Sakura. The battle started. Sakura versus Haru. All Sakura could do was believe in her teammates but, mostly, herself. Sakura dodged the attack of Haru's fist glowing with chakra. Haru passed her and Sakura had to take the chance. She charged her fist with her chakra and it met Haru's back. The long haired woman was sent flying over for several meters and all Sakura could do in the moment was watch. She expected a loud crash from a distance but no luck. That was when she felt someone's presence behind her.

"That all you have," She mocked. "Sakura-_chan_?" She said in a playful voice. Sakura didn't respond, she stood still, trying to predict her next move. "Well then, my turn again!" She chuckled. She wrapped her forearm around Sakura's neck. Sakura's body tensed, knowing if she moved, Haru could use her forearm to strangle her hard enough to block the air passage in her throat. She wrapped her hand around Haru's wrist and tried to break it but Haru could had seen through her intention. "Nah-uh. One drop of chakra on your hand and I will strangle you."

"Alright, alright!" Sakura gave in. "But will you just hear me out?" Sakura yelled. Haru gasped at Sakura's sudden change of mood.

This was it. She would try and talk her out of it. If this didn't work, she would have to proceed to drastic measures and try to kill her. But what was the first thing to say to an avenger? She had to figure it out fast before she opened her mouth. She had to figure out what she had said wrong to Sasuke and avoid saying them to her. This was a big risk and she was going to take it.

* * *

I'm sorry there wasn't much KakaSaku here. And I'm sorry it was so long but you had to find out about the enemies, right? _I mean, you've gotta love the twisted family story,_ as my cousin commented while she read this. I swear, the next one _will_ have the KakaSaku moment. I promise you guys that! Reviews are appreciated.

**Next Chapter! **Sakura versus Haru. Who will win? But wait, where are Kakashi and the others? Will they have a chance to show off their new move? But what if Kakashi gets into the fight for a certain reason? Tune in to the next chapter: _His Last Request_.

...**NiKO7t4**.


	8. His Last Request

**His Last Request**

**Chapter 8: His Last Request**

"Sakura!" A feminine voice cried out from afar. "What are you doing? Get out of there!" Akiha ordered. But Sakura didn't move. She remained sandwiched between Haru's forearm and body. The young Haruno only gave pleading woman a reassuring look. A look that told her that she knew what she was doing. Akiha was silenced. All she could do was put her faith into the green-eyed kunoichi.

"Haru, listen to me. You don't have to do this." Sakura said in a tight voice. "You don't have to destroy this village. You don't have to destroy anything. Tell me, why do you want revenge? Is it because you think it'll make your mother happy? Because you think it's what she wants you to do?"

"I don't _think_ it's what mama wants me to do." She interrupted. "I _know _it's what she wants me to do." She moved her forearm closer to Sakura's neck and leaned closer to whisper something in her earlobe. "You done yet, kunoichi? I'm getting bored."

"Haru, come on!" Sakura suddenly snapped. The woman behind her could only gasp silently at Sakura's sudden aggressiveness. "Is it what you think she wants? Or is it what _you _just want? Think about it! You think she wants you to risk your life just to avenge her?" Haru gave in to her anger and strangled the woman in her arms, blocking Sakura's air passage. Although, Sakura still endured it and continued speaking. "Face it, Haru. You want to kill the Daimyo and destroy this village because _you_ didn't get to meet your mother properly. Because _you_ never got to spend enough time with her. And because _you _never got the chance to really feel her motherly love. Do you understand now, Haru?"

"No!" Yelled Haru right beside her ear, causing a ringing sound to come after. She had more difficulty in breathing than she had anticipated. This sort of strangling shouldn't have the ability to affect her greatly as it did to her now. "I know I'm doing this for my mama! It's not for me, it's for her!"

"You leave me no choice then..." Sakura whispered to herself. With the hand that was gripping Haru's wrist, Sakura crushed scaphoid bone and broke free from her grasp. She ran meters away from Haru who was gripping her broken wrist and was tearing up in pain. "I'm sorry Haru but I have to do this if you won't stop." She pulled out her gloves from her kunai pouch and put them on before gathering chakra into one fist as she ran to attack her opponent. The attack failed, however. Haru leaped backwards in order to avoid the kunoichi's deadly punch. "Come here and fight me like you're supposed to, Shimizu. I'll beat you to a pulp!"

"You honestly think you can beat me?" Haru chuckled. "Haruno Sakura, did you forget that me and my companions have analyzed your files? We know everything about you. We know your attacks, styles, jutsus and even your limit." She scanned her panting opponent from head to toe before focusing back to her eyes to continue. "And it looks like you're close."

"Not even." Snarled Sakura.

* * *

"Oi, Sakura-chan!" A familiar voice called from behind. "We're here!"

Sakura looked at Naruto from behind and then back at Haru who was obviously surprised as she spoke. "Impossible. They defeated Fuyushi and Kintora?" Sakura looked behind her again. Her jaw dropped at the sight. Kakashi and Naruto had their so-called _clones_ walking behind them casually. But no one was more surprised than Haru was. "Fuyushi? Kintora? What is the meaning of this?" She asked as one of her feet stomped onto the dusty road. None of them answered. "I demand an answer! Didn't I warn you that whoever turns their back on me will be killed by me?"

"My father and I don't care if you kill us. But we _have_ to stop you first." Kintora spat.

"Ha! What can papa do? He isn't even a shinobi! And besides, he _loves _me." She said in a mocking tone.

"Honda Kintora wasn't talking about _your_ father, Haru." Haru's body tensed at the sound of her mother's maiden name. She almost felt like crying at that moment but restrained it.

"You don't mean... You're" She pointed from Kintora to Fuyushi and then back again and laughed maniacally at the thought. "Hahaha! No wonder papa never cared!" She said in between her laughs. Soon she calmed down and looked at Kintora with a thoughtful expression. "Aww, Kintora, you poor thing. You spent half your life trying to get papa to notice you and what do you get?" She crossed her arms and looked at him with a mocking expression. "A twisted family story." Focusing on Fuyushi, she planted a disgusted look on her face as she snarled. "You played around too much, you big lunk of silver. In the end, papa was the golden one."

"And you'll always be father's overripe fruit. Always ready to become spoiled." Kintora spat back.

Before Haru could even speak up, Sakura interrupted their verbal fight with a loud cough. She covered her mouth as the chain of coughs continued, the next one rougher than the previous one. Soon, she could feel a metallic taste in one corner of her mouth. She pulled her hand away from her mouth just enough to take a peek. Her hunch was right. She was already coughing blood. She looked from her hand and then back to Haru.

"When did yo-"

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Sakura, I am disappointed in you. You're a failure as a medic." She smirked. "Or maybe it's Tsunade-sama whom I should call a failure. A failure as a teacher perhaps? Or maybe as Hokage?" That was it. She crossed the line. Haru could insult her all day but not her shishou. Tsunade never failed as a teacher nor as a Hokage! She could strangle that woman to death and- _It's back then, wasn't it? _Sakura thought to herself. She remembered Haru almost killing her with just her forearm. _Shit._ She thought. She was too focused on talking Haru out of this mess that she didn't notice the foreign chakra enter her body.

"You sent your masked chakra down my throat to disrupt the air passage from one of my lungs, didn't you? That's the reason I had a hard time breathing than usual." She said, followed by another series of coughs. She couldn't take it any longer. She let herself fall to her knees and this time, both of her hands covered her mouth as she resumed her coughing episode. Naruto approached her from behind and crouched beside her.

"Come on, Sakura-chan." He whispered, rubbing Sakura's back with one of his hands. "We've got a plan. I'll fill you in on it while you heal yourself and while they battle Haru." Sakura did her best to stop and ask but Naruto answered before she could even speak. "Yes, they're going to help us stop Haru. All we can do is put our faith in them. If they do something to betray us, the joke's on us. No questions asked."

He helped Sakura stand up while she continued coughing her heart out. The taste of her own blood now spread. She really tasted it now. She could feel the warm and thick liquid in one side of her mouth. While she and Naruto walked away from Haru, the two new allies passed them by, making their way to battle with Shimizu Haru. This was _their_ battle for now. Naruto settled her to sit on one of the benches on their side. He told her to heal herself while he told her about the plan they had formulated earlier. And when the explanation was over, the healing process did too. Sakura lifted her head to look at the family battle. It was really intense. Kintora fought taijutsu style with her as they disappeared and appeared to another area from time to time. When Fuyushi was given a signal, he too would join the fight but then stop for some reason.

"Are you okay, Sakura?" Kakashi asked.

Sakura didn't turn her head to look at him. He was only given a single nod as a response. He then looked at the battling family. It was nothing new to him. He had seen families battle each other before, and sometimes worse. But he didn't have time to think about that. Giving Naruto the signal, he stood up and masked his chakra. Naruto then got to his feet and asked Sakura if she was okay and Sakura confirmed she was. The blond ordered her to mask her chakra and they were going to put the plan in action now.

The three of them took their positions and Kakashi formed several seals, summoning a small brown dog. Pakkun. Kakashi gave him a knowing look and Pakkun complied. Both of them already knew what to do. Kakashi walked toward Sakura who was still watching the fight of the family.

"Sakura, you have your scroll, don't you?" The kunoichi, who had her back on Kakashi, only nodded. "Good. Just like in training. Set it up."

She pulled out the scroll from her kunai pouch and crouched to set it up in front of her. She spread it wide on the ground and gave Kakashi a thumbs up. Kakashi didn't need to give his summoned dog the signal for Pakkun, too, saw the signal. The brown canine tugged the hem of Naruto's pants between his paws. Obliging to the signal, he positioned his hands in front of him and began the jutsu. A funnel of wind enveloped Kakashi and Sakura seconds later. While the enemies turned allies distracted the real threat, the couple in the tornado were starting to carry out the plan... Or at least, trying to.

"Sakura?" Kakashi called. No response. "Sakura."

"I can't." She murmured, staring at the thin layer of wind rapidly passing by before her. The wind was polluted by the dust covered road, making it seem like a sand tornado. Her hair was going with the wind but she refused to move an inch to hold them in their place with her hands. She didn't care if she'd have a hard time combing it later on. And God, Kakashi was thankful for it. He examined her profile for a while. She was standing still, not one part of her body moved. Except for her gummy pink hair which he loved to see flowing with the wind. If he didn't know better, he would think this girl... No, this _lady_ before her was some sort of royalty. A harmless princess who wouldn't hurt a fly. And that was another thing he was thankful about. He thanked the heavens that she wasn't a princess at all. He thanked the Gods that this woman in front of him was a shinobi like himself: a reckless and if the wrong buttons are to be pressed, very dangerous. She couldn't be any better person than she is at that moment to him. She was perfect the way she was. He didn't need her to be a harmless princess. He didn't want her to be some sort of veteran seductress. He just wanted her the way she was before him.

But it was time to end his trail of thoughts as he moved closer to Sakura. He grabbed her by the arm and spun her around which made her body stiffen more. Her face was now looking at the Copy Nin's jacketed chest. With his free hand, Kakashi cupped her chin and lifted her head so she could focus more on him and not his flack jacket. Her attention was now on Kakashi's eye which was looking directly into hers intensely.

"Sakura," Started Kakashi. "Do it. You know you want to get out of this thing after what happened." He was shot a confused look by Sakura so he explained briefly. "In the elevator."

Sakura's eyes suddenly snapped. She had almost forgotten about it. Now, she was furious. She had forgotten the embarrassing moment while battling Haru but Kakashi had reminded her. But he wasn't really to be blamed. He was just trying to get her to do her part of the jutsu. She couldn't be mad at him for doing his duty as the leader of the team. So, clearly, there was no other choice but to be mad at herself. For being such a coward.

_Snap out of it, Sakura! _Someone suddenly exclaimed in the back of her mind. _I never imagined you'd need me again!_ It was her inner. She thought she had gotten rid of it months ago, when she thought she didn't need it to encourage her or motivate her anymore. Obviously, in some warped way, it was just resting at the back of her mind. Her Inner Sakura never left her. It was just waiting for the right moment to help her out. _Come on, Sakura! This is the last time I'll ever invade your mind so make it count! You don't want me here, do you? So, don't be that Genin you were! And don't just do it for yourself or for Kakashi or for the idiotic blond! Remember, you're protecting another village! You're protecting several people. Come on, just do it! You know you're not a coward! You're much more than that, Sakura! And you're much more than Tsunade's apprentice! You're more than Sharingan Kakashi's former student! Those are just names attached to you. Sakura, you're an individual, without those names supporting your name, you're still more than meets the eye!_

Moments later, Sakura snapped out of her confrontation with her inner and focused on reality. Here she was, positioned intimately with her ex-sensei, inside something that had a 99.8% chance of killing them and she was trembling like some sort of 7-year-old who just got off of the roller coaster. What was she to do? She was going to do the jutsu. There was no turning back. If she died in this thing, then she's unfortunate. If she survives? Still unfortunate. Why? Because she'll be living this hard life for a longer period of time.

"Fine, I'll do it." She pulled away from Kakashi before he could do something that he'd regret later. She warily crouched as she formed the required seals carefully. As soon as the seals were completed, she took the base of the scroll in one of her hands while the other remained still, forming a one hand seal. She swung the scroll in different directions, unlike their training when she only did vertically.

"I'll have Pakkun alarm the outsiders about the kunai bombs."

"Don't! If he alarms Naruto and the battle, Haru will also be conscious about it and dodge them!" Sakura reminded.

"Sakura, the point of those cherry bombs are to distract her while you come out of nowhere to seal her chakra and paralyze her."

Sakura could only gruff at Kakashi's lecture. Knowing that Kakashi wouldn't say anything anymore, she commanded the scroll to release. Several kunais, similar to the ones in their training, suddenly emerged from the scroll and passed by the thin, dusty layer of wind the surounded them.

* * *

"Everybody!" Pakkun shouted. "Paper bomb kunais coming from the tornado! Think fast!'

The battling family paused after the alarm and looked at the massive tornado that formed several feet from their battlefield. They didn't have time to ponder on how they didn't notice it because it wasn't long until a storm of kunais were sent flying out of it. All three of them did their best to dodge them. The blond and his father didn't have a hard time because most of the kunais were heading toward Haru's direction.

* * *

"So what now?" Sakura mumbled under her breath, standing still and staring at the dusty wind.

Kakashi lifted his hitai-ate and used his Sharingan to scan the happenings outside of the tornado. He caught a blurry sight of Haru dodging Sakura's kunais, although he doubted she could still keep up after battling Sakura and the other two. But he suddenly recalled she was wearing the Haru necklace... He took note that it looked different than the last time he saw it. She focused on Haru's face, to see any sign of fatigue. Instead of finding what he hoped to find, he noticed something unexpected.

"Sakura?" His companion only _'hm?' -_ed. "Since when did Haru have black eyes?" Asked Kakashi as he continued to watch the events outside.

Sakura explained what happened, although Kakashi didn't really grasp it all. But he did get the part on what caused her eyes to go black... Black as a dead person's. It pained Kakashi to put in mind that _that_ was what Sakura would look like if she were already... The Copy Nin refused to let his trail of thoughts go on. Instead of just watching, he started to form his seals. Soon, sound of hundreds of chirping birds were heard from his direction. His partner got the signal and she readied herself.

"Remember, seal her chakra first. If that doesn't work, we have no other choice but to try and just paralyze her. I'm worried that she might have enough chakra to counter the paralyzation and break free." Kakashi reminded.

"She has enough chakra to do anything, Kakashi. And I'm so relieved that she doesn't have those hypnotizing eyes of yours." Giggled Sakura while Kakashi stood still, trying to register what he had just heard, his Raikiri remained activated on one of his hand. It took a while before Sakura realized what she had just said. She cleared her throat at the realization and stop the trail of giggles. "The eye you... I mean the thing you do with.. It's the Sharingan I'm talking about." She said flatly. "Should I start the explosion?"

"Go for it." She formed one seal and commanded the release of the cherry bomb kunais. Both of them could hear the continuous explosions start from the jutsu. "She's stuck in a circle of kunai bombs. Haru's most likely going to make a jump for it in order to dodge them. She's over there." He pointed to one area of the tornado and Sakura complied. She faced there and readied herself, gathering chakra to her feet so she could make a big leap. "Ready..." Kakashi narrowed his eyes on the blurry image of Haru who was going for the jump he anticipated earlier. "NOW!"

He controlled his chakra to cut a gap into the rapid winds of the tornado. Sakura hurriedly jumped out of the tornado and this time, gathered her chakra into her hands. As soon as she had exited the tornado, she set her mind completely on Haru's Tenketsus. Haru leaped, as if on cue, with her back facing Sakura. She let her fingers stick together, the way Neji does when he executes his Hakke Rokujūyon Shō. Sakura wasn't really used to fighting this way and this was the first time she had used it in the middle of a real battle but it was worth the shot. If she could hit most of Haru's tenketsus, all five of them could beat her in a heartbeat. And it also means she achieved a new technique. All she had to do was add a twist to it and she could call it a signature move.

_The Eifu, Tenchu, Daitsui, Kenchuuyu, Kensei, Jue, Kengu, Koukou, Kengaiyu, Kentei, Kokotsu, Youkei, Tensei, Goukoku, Kyokuchi, Shiyou, Jinyu, Isha, Houkou, Kangenyu and Shishitu,_ Sakura enumerated as she examined Haru's whole back side. _One near the hairline. One behind the jaw... And the list just goes on. Here I go._

Her first strike was on one of Haru's shoulder blade, paralyzing it first so she could hit the tenketsus on her arm continuously. She knew where to find the chakra points but she knew her speed was nothing compared to Neji's so she modified it a little. As soon as she was done with one arm, she grabbed Haru's unharmed arm from behind and placed her foot on Haru's lower back, positioning her on her stomach in the air so when they'd fall, Haru would be the one to break it. The kunoichi with the upper hand continued hitting the opponent's tenketsus from behind. Hitting the base of her neck, several parts of her back and her calf as well. However, before Sakura could close the final on Haru's back side, Sakura felt an impact beneath her feet. They crashed on land already, Haru lay motionless on her stomach while Sakura got off of her.

Haru had no idea what had just happened. It was all so fast she couldn't even register the thought on how Sakura got the chance to pull her body beneath her. Her whole back was so sore, she couldn't even move. That was all she thought of right now. She had to find a way to stand up and fight this woman. But of course, she always had something up her sleeve.

"I hit one tenketsu on the base of your neck, which means: not only have I hit a chakra point, I've also hit a part of your spinal cord. It's the spinal cord that coordinates your back's posture. If it's damaged, it's possible that you can't stand straight anymore. If you try, you could break your spinal cord completely. I wouldn't try to move if I were you." She panted.

"Poor Sakura..." Haru chuckled followed by a chain of giggles. "You really don't know the logic of this battle, do you? Even though you've hit half of the overall tenketsus I have, I over-produce chakra, remember? If the amount of chakra in my body is doubled the amount of yours when we're both normal, then our chakra levels should be equal now... But I still have the upper hand." She said. She began to stand up as if she just had a small slip and faced Sakura who was stunned to see she could still stand after those attacks. "You've used some amount of chakra when you sealed my tenketsus so I'm guessing you're almost out of chakra by now." She winced a little, feeling some kind of burn at her back part. She raised a chakra-enhanced fist and was about to attack the very exhausted Sakura.

Meanwhile, Naruto had dismissed the jutsu and Pakkun had disappeared into a pile of smoke. Letting fatigue take over him, he let himself fall on his back. He figured he at least deserved a little rest from all that. On the other hand, Kakashi did his best to forget about his low stamina and rushed to pull Sakura away from Haru's range. He was almost there, close enough to grab Sakura's hand. He was so close but not close enough... Sakura was hit by Haru's punch.

She was sent flying several meters away from them and Haru could only laugh maniacally at her work. She just sent Tsunade's apprentice flying with a single punch! She felt confident in herself now... A little too confident to not notice Kakashi was there in front of her, glaring at her with his piercing eyes. Even though this woman resembled Sakura so much, it still didn't pull away his anger. He punched the enemy's abdomen making her lean forward to lessen the pain she could feel.

* * *

"Sakura!" Akiha cried out as she approached the kunoichi. She crouched on Sakura's side, facing her as she checked Sakura's pulse first. When she confirmed that Sakura was still alive, it brought her a new problem. She didn't know how to do this. She wasn't a medic. How could she sustain Sakura's life. "Sakura! Tell me what to do so I can heal you!" Akiha was in the state of panic already.

"Akiha.." Sakura murmured. She used her remaining strength to prop herself up so she could sit down. "Don't panic like that, please." She looked around and saw Kintora tending to Fuyushi's wounds on one part of the area while Naruto lay on the dusty road as if he was just lying on the his own bed. Kakashi and Haru were nowhere in sight. "Where's Kakashi? And Ha- Ah!" Gasped the pink haired kunoichi. She placed a hand on one side of her abdomen and started breathing heavily in equal breaths. She had to breathe to forget about the excruciating pain.

"Sakura! Can you heal your wounds? Do you have enough chakra?" Asked the brunette.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." She used her free hand to open her kunai pouch and look for her food pills, the pills she made at home to recover an amount of chakra. Once she got a hold of them, she immediately took them in and started healing her wounds as fast as she could. As soon as she was done, she stood up and looked around. Still no sign of Kakashi and Haru. Where were they? "Where's-"

"Sakura-chan!" A familiar voice cut her off. It was Naruto. She turned to his direction and looked at him with a relieved look on her face. God, she was glad he was alright. "Let's get going! I feel so relaxed ri-"

He was cut off by a loud groan from Kintora's direction. It seemed that Fuyushi, who had his back pressed against the wall of the building, had an injury that Kintora couldn't heal. The three shinobis who were already standing raced to their location. Sakura scanned the giants body. In her opinion, Kintora did a great job in tending to the other wounds but the major ones seemed to be his problem. She requested everyone to give them some space since Fuyushi was already panting heavily as she sat beside him. He needed to breathe in some air while she began healing his wounds. But in the middle of the healing process, her sight was blurred up and she couldn't see Fuyushi's wounds clearly anymore. She paused her healing activity and brought both hands to her temples and rubbed them which made Kintora worry.

"Are you alright, Haruno-san?" Kintora asked as he placed a hand on her shoulder from behind. "I can cover up his wound now that it isn't as deep as before." He sat on the other side of his father and brought out a roll of bandage out of nowhere.

"Sakura-chan, you should rest." Suggested Naruto in a very concerned tone. He knew Sakura had done more than he had today and he knew a week-long vacation in a resort was more than she deserved for what she had done for this day. But she refused to stop. She resumed healing Fuyushi's other wounds. She was as stubborn as him sometimes and he hated that part of her. "You're almost out of chakra. You could die right here."

"I have..." She paused for a moment to gulp before continuing. "I have to help him. We have to help Haru see that vengeance isn't always the answer, Naruto." She said, barely over a whisper. It just proved that her lack of chakra now caught up with her but she didn't stop. She would at least finish healing Fuyushi. She was beginning to pant and beads of sweat rolled down her temples. "I want to help her..." She whispered to herself.

"Well then, _if_ Kakashi loses this battle, I'll finish it." Said the promising blond. Suddenly, tension was built up in Sakura's system and Naruto could notice it. "Sakura, you've already done so much. I honestly doubt you even have a chance of winning if you battle Haru again. I'm usually not this frank but I'm very worried. You're pushing yourself too hard and if no one reminds you that you are, then you won't stop. That's why I'm reminding you, you've done all you could and did a great job than anyone else so don't push yourself too hard until the last minute."

And with those words, Naruto pat Sakura lightly on her back. Although she would usually find it annoying, it had relieved some of the pressure off of her as she concluded the healing. She pulled away from Fuyushi and walked groggily to the far end of the wall and isolated herself from the others by sitting there. Resting would be the best reward for her. It was just now that she had realized how sore her body felt, like every inch of her fair skin was bruised. She couldn't even move a muscle. She just breathed in and out to forget about the pain.

No sooner had they heard a crash coming from a building not that far from their position. It worried Sakura. She knew that kind of crash. She heard it all the time at Konoha when someone would piss her off. She would punch that person into the nearest building, resulting with the same loud sound they had heard just now. And what worried her most is that she knew it might be Kakashi who had made the sound. She gathered all her remaining strength to walk to that direction but Naruto halted her.

"You are _not_ walking in that condition, Sakura-chan!" Naruto positioned himself in front of her and hooked her legs from behind him to his front. "Come on, Sakura-chan. Get on." He invited. The kunoichi was too tired to even argue with him about her pride of being lifted around like some child. She obliged to do as he said.

Once both of them were set, Naruto spun himself around, only to find Akiha, Kintora and Fuyushi dusting off their clothes and getting ready to get on the run again.

"Let's go." He growled, finally getting full speed on his feet, one foot stepping several meters away from where the other foot had landed.

* * *

He tightened his grip on his opponent's neck but he couldn't bring himself to pull out this woman's throat since he looked too much like Sakura. Count out her black eyes, and she could be a perfect replica. He studied her face for a moment, not knowing Haru was to take advantage of him deep in thought. She gathered an excessive amount of chakra in one of her palms and attempted to slap Kakashi but he caught her wrist just in time, his eyes never leaving her face.

"Just because I'm a little soft on you does not mean you can take advantage of it." He hissed. The Copy Nin looked into her eyes intensely, in a way an avenger would look at his target.

"Just because I look like her doesn't mean I can be a substitute for her." She mocked. Kakashi, obviously surprised that even an opponent noticed, unconsciously loosened his grip on her neck. "Yes, Kakashi-san. I can see it very well, from the moment you saw her cough up that blood. The way you looked at her with that worried eye of yours. I could even sense it. And right now, the way you're looking at me. I know you only look at me like that because I look a lot like her." She let her free hand twirl a strand of Kakashi's silver hair before following up her words. "I kind of liked you, Kakashi-san. But it's a shame you have very bad taste in women. Weak, dumb, stupid and useless as _her_? Pft. You love someone like _her_?"

He jerked his head away and his death grip returned. The way she knew what he was thinking of, or who he was thinking of, annoyed him. But the insults were the one thing that finally made him crack. He freed her wrist and used the same hand to punch her in the gut before leaping backwards away from her. Haru remained stuck on the crushed wall for a while, as if she was glued on, and slowly slipped down into a sitting position with her back against the wall and her legs spread and folded in an angle in front of her.

Kakashi knew he was almost at his limit and he had to finish this. But when he was just about to form a seal, he felt some sort of painful pounding against his head. He clutched his head in one hand and tried his best not to acknowledge the pain. But it was no good, no matter how hard he tried to ease the pain, it would still return, the next pound harder and more painful than the previous one. Not from far away, he had heard an evil giggle coming from Haru.

"I can't believe you didn't notice that, Kakashi-san. I even touched you with a finger with a huge amount of chakra, yet you weren't paying attention. Tsk. That Haruno woman is a very bad influence on you. You think of her too much, you start to forget your current situation." Mocked the pink-haired woman. Kakashi groaned and hissed at the pain but Haru could only watch him, enjoying every minute of the show. "Looks like you only have enough chakra for one last jutsu. Once you use that remaining amount, you die. So, technically, I saved your life by stopping you. You should thank me."

Finally, Kakashi dropped to his knees with one hand sticking on the ground and the other on his head. He continued his hisses and pants of pain and he would even scream at times.

"Kakashi!" A feminine voice cried out from a distance. Soon, a small group of people came running to their direction.

Naruto stopped running and put Sakura to her feet. He looked to Akiha and gave her a knowing nod before facing Haru who was now watching them instead of the now suffering Kakashi. With one last glare at her, he ran to her direction and formed a seal and cried, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Akiha was about to step forward to Sakura when she suddenly got her energy back and ran off somewhere.

"Kakashi!" She panted to herself as she may her way to him. He had his back to her and she approached him hastily and crouched behind him. "Kakashi, what happened? What is it?" Kakashi didn't answer but he continued to breathe heavily. Sakura noted that he had his hand on his head so she put hers on top of his to check. Her small hands glowed in a faded shade of green as she scanned for any foreign chakra and she had found one right away. It felt heavy and dark and it spread easily. "Kakashi, hold on." She placed her hand on the back of his head, just below his hairline and checked once again. "It's reaching the spinal chord." She said to herself.

She knelt behind him and placed her hands on his chest, forcing him to lie down and rest his head on her lap. He did as she had told him.

"Okay, Kakashi, settle down. Calm yourself and forget about the pain." She said calmly. No sooner, his breathing finally slowed down a bit, but it was still fast.

She looked down on his and saw his eyes, that were looking back, were now dull. One was dull as black and the other... The Sharingan had lost its glow. It was nothing but another red eye right now and she couldn't help but feel hurt about it. His eyes weren't as mesmerizing as the were before and she wanted those eyes of him. She settled a palm over his forehead and tried to heal him. But the flow of her chakra was now disrputed due to lacking the substance. Kakashi had sensed it and used a hand to guide hers away from his head.

"Sakura, I honestly doubt I'd make it back to Konoha alive." At the sentence, Sakura's eyes began to tear up. "Don't cry, Sakura. Please, not right now. Before my time comes, I want the last images of you to be smiling. Before I go, I want to see you laughing and enjoying life like there's no tomorrow."

Sakura prevented the tears from falling down, mostly because it would land on his face, and spoke in a cracked voice. "Kakashi, don't say that. I'm begging you. You'll make it back to Konoha. You won't die, I promise you that. When we get back there we can do all those normal things we used to do. We'd meet up with Naruto and Sai at Ichiraku's and eat there like we always do. And we also have Sasuke now! We haven't invited him to one of our team meals yet!" She sobbed. She paused for a moment to take in a few breaths and continued. "Kakashi, there's so much more we have to do! We need you! Team 7 isn't a Team 7 without you. It isn't complete!" She thought about what she was going to say next carefully. Once she had decided, she rubbed one of her eyes with a hand while the other was clenched tight against her chest. "Hatake Kakashi, I need you. My life isn't complete without you. A day isn't complete when I don't see you. My morning isn't good when you're not there to taunt me or tease me! A meal isn't complete when I'm not sharing it with you!" She cried out, this time, in real sobs.

She couldn't hold back the tears anymore so she finally let on the waterworks. She couldn't remember the time she cried the hard in front of anyone, ever.

"Sakura," He suddenly said in his stern voice. She paused her sobs for a moment and looked at him, her tears involuntarily rolling down her cheeks and always followed by another one. "Pull down my mask." Sakura gave him an astonished look but he could only respond with a single nod. She complied to his order and pulled it down up to his neck. God, even if she was upside down, she could still see he was beautiful. His face was well-defined. His features were certainly one of a kind. His face was flawless, excluding the scar he had on his eye. But that served him to be more beautiful. But her thoughts were cut off when he spoke again. "I have one last request. I hope you don't get mad at me for doing this."

He used his hand to pull Sakura's bent head lower and kissed her as passionate as he could that moment. She was shocked at Kakashi's unnatural action. When was the last time she had a kiss as passionate as this one? Never. She never did. It was her first and best kiss yet. She just closed her eyes and let Kakashi do as he pleased. She wanted it too. Kakashi pulled away a few seconds to breath in some air before capturing the woman's lips again and he did what he could with his remaining strength so that kiss would remain her most memorable one. He could still taste the metallic taste of blood from all her coughing earlier but it only made it more intense to him. He forgot all about the excruciating pain on his head because now, he had something he had to focus on.

Soon enough, he pulled away and Sakura did too and they could just stare each other. Sakura's heartbeat was beating loud and fast and she was afraid that even Kakashi might hear. While Kakashi... Well, it wasn't long until he felt the fatigue catching up to him. His whole body felt sore so he lay perfectly still on Sakura's lap while he looked at her beautiful green orbs while she looked back into his already dull eyes. He started breathing heavily at the minute he realized his heart was slowing down as well and Sakura noticed it. With one last smile, Kakashi closed his eyes and gave in to the fatigue. Soon, he could feel nothing at all.

"Kakashi..." She whispered to herself, over and over again. "Kakashi..." She leaned over and wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him as tight as she could.

"Sakura-senpai..." A voice said from behind. She turned to look at the person and found Akiha standing beside two other people in white uniforms. _Nurses_, she thought to herself. With a little hesitation, she pulled away from Kakashi and let the strangers take care of him. They summoned a stretcher from who knows where and placed Kakashi on top of it carefully. Akiha approached her and guided her to her feet and whispered. "We'll take you guys back to Konoha while Naruto finishes off here. Kintora and Fuyushi agreed to help him if he gets stuck."

She didn't reply. She let one hand touch her lips, trying to recall the feel of Kakashi's against them. It was... _sweet_. No, most definitely not sweet. It was something else. Definitely something else. But she couldn't help but wonder... If he said it was his last request... Then it means he was so sure that he would-... She refused to go down that road. She didn't want to think that Kakashi wanted to die. She didn't want that. None of his students would. None of his friends would ever want that.

She knew he would live! He'd make it! She wanted him to! He would live. He would live... _Right_..?

* * *

That's it. It's self-titled chapter! I'll make it 10 chapters because this part got really long and I wasn't expecting that at all. And this was the hardest part of the story. I'm not used to writing kissing scenes.

**Next Chapter! **What if Kakashi makes it? What if Kakashi doesn't? What will Sakura do if he's not there anymore? What if he really... He wouldn't... Would he? She didn't want him to die. She doesn't want him to die! Why? Because what she felt that time... What she felt about his last request... She was... Please tune in for the next chapter: _The Sun is About to Set_.

**Randomly Speaking: **I'm really glad I've improved a little as a fiction-ist. I used to use these plain words but now, I think I now how to use the bigger words and use idioms and what-not. I'm so happy! You don't know how happy and hyper I get when I open my mail account and find out that a lot of readers have taken interest in this story! They put me in their alerts, faves and reviewed me! Guys! I love you all! If it weren't for you, there would be no reason for me to continue this and it wouldn't have gotten this far! Thank you! Thank you very much! You all inspire me! :*:*

**-****niko7t4**


	9. The Sun is About to Set

**His Last Request**

**Chapter 9: The Sun is About to Set****  
**

It was nearing dawn when they had found a safe spot to rest from the long trip. They would freshen up in less than an hour and get back on their journey. Konoha was just another 3 hours and a half away by foot. But they had been running all night, no stop-overs, at full speed. They all knew that forcing themselves to go any further would just make things harder so they agreed to rest once they find a safe spot.

Sakura glanced at the Copy Nin who was still lying unconscious on the stretcher. He looked totally haggard, like they've just picked him up from somewhere in the forest. Only she and the other medics have seen his face but she warned them not to wear it out or else she'd make their lives hard as hell. Of course she would do that. He put some effort into hiding his drop-dead gorgeous face and now she understood why. His face could make any head turn to him! And he didn't want to attract attention at all.

With a sigh, she exited the cave and walked leisurely around the forest, looking for something that might help them. But she was unsuccessful. She came back in the cave a few minutes later with nothing. Noticing that the other two looked worse than she had, she formed a seal and produced a shadow clone with her remaining chakra and ordered the nurses to get up. Her clone headed to one end of the stretcher and her own body moved to the other. With the signal given, they lifted both sides of the stretcher at the same time.

"Come on, I'll do the carrying from here on. You can just give your arms a break while we run to Konoha." She ordered.

The nurses bowed at her and spoke. "As you wish, Haruno Sakura-sama."

She didn't have time to argue with them about this again but she was really getting pissed off. "For the 27th time, stop calling me that!"

The nurses looked at each other in confusion and regained their composure. Once everything was settled, they exited the cave and ran as fast as they could to Konoha. Kakashi may still have his pulse, according to Sakura, but if they didn't hurry, that one thing left could disappear in a heartbeat.

* * *

"Kotetsu! Izumo! Assistance, now!" Were the first things that came out of her mouth when she saw the said shinobis waiting at the watch post by the gate of Konoha. Both of them rushed to her aid. "Take Kakashi to the emergency room. He still has his pulse but there's a chance we could lose him right now so _step on it_!"

Kotetsu and Izumo complied to the order. Sakura had to do it. She was running out of energy to run to the hospital. In one swift move, she punched her clone and it disappeared on the spot. She turned to her companions who were obviously exhausted from running in top speed. They had arrived Konoha in less than 3 hours which surprised her. She didn't know she could run that fast. And heck, she was also surprised that these nurses behind her could keep up with her.

"Good job guys..." She panted, nearly out of breath when she had said it. "I bet you never had to run as fast as that in your life, huh?" She joked. Of course, her companions were too busy catching their breath so they just gave her a quick nod. "As soon as you guys catch your breath, I'll show you where you can stay for the next few days."

One of the medics, the violet-haired girl, had a troubled expression and declined the offer. "Oh no, Sakura-sama. It's fine. We need to get back to Hidden Grass as soon as possible."

"Well I can't let you travel without enough energy. At least rest here for a day or two and then I'll let you guys go. And for the 28th time, stop calling me that! You can just call me Sakura or Sakura-san, whatever. Just..." She sighed heavily and finished. "Anything but that."

The other medic was now the one to speak. She only noticed now that his hair wasn't black, like she anticipated earlier in the travel. It was a dark shade of blue, similar to Sasuke's. "But the head of our hospital told us to pay respect to people such as yourself, Sakura-sama. She said you and your Hokage-sama are like the Daimyos of the medical ninja range. In fact, I even idolize you, Sakura-sama! And I'm glad I could be of assistance." He said it and bowed before her before regaining his composure again.

"Yeah!" The other one agreed. "The nurses in the hospital even argued about who was going to help you and in the end, the head nurse chose the both of us. And even if it's just rushing a patient back to his own village, it was still helping and we were glad to be of service!"

Sakura wanted to debate about it but she couldn't find enough energy to do it so she just let it go. "Well then, I have to do something for you in return."

Both of them shook their heads firmly with a smile before declining the offer. Sakura insisted but no matter how much she tried, they just wouldn't accept it.

"What about you just tell me your names?"

"My name is Watanabe Tanaka." The violet-haired girl introduced.

"I'm Kodaka Juno." He followed up. Sakura pondered on the boy's last name. It sounded somehow familiar. And then it struck her like a lightning bolt.

"Are you Akiha's brother? You certainly _do_ look like her." She shrugged. "Although your hair is a little different. In fact, opposite shades."

The young boy shook his head firmly before correcting the pink haired woman. "She's my mother." Sakura's sea green eyes widened at the revelation of the young boy. But Akiha didn't look any older than her or Naruto! She was physically fit and she spoke like someone in her teens too. Juno explained further for her. "I know she looks kind of young but to be honest, she's as old as Uncle Hatake."

"Uncle? He never told me he had a-"

"Mother invited him to celebrate once and he declined because he was on a mission that time. He told her that she would accept being an uncle but he couldn't promise he would ever meet me. But now that I've finally met him, I can tell mother that I finally saw him in person. And also father! He will be thrilled to know about this! He and Uncle Hatake worked a few times together and he said uncle was very much fun to be with."

Well, look at that. While Naruto had been teasing her of being jealous of Akiha, he didn't know that she already had her own family. Somehow, it lifted off some of the weight on her shoulders. Why was that? She didn't know. Or maybe she was just afraid to admit that she really was jealous at first. Whatever the matter, she set it aside first and led Tanaka and Juno to one of the inns in Konoha.

As they entered, a short-haired blond ran toward her in open arms and crushed her tightly against her chest. She was a few inches taller than the cherry-haired girl, but the nurses figured it was because she was wearing heels.

"Sakura-dono!" She finally let go of her and looked at Sakura's messed up state. "What happened to you? I've never seen you that messy since you moved out of your parent's house." She tucked a stray lock of Sakura's hair behind her ear before continuing. "And you look sad too. What happened?"

She didn't want to talk about it right now. And seriously, just thinking about Kakashi made her more nervous than she was now. And she didn't think that it would be possible. She avoided the subject and told her what they were really there for.

"Kei, we'll talk about it another time. Right now, could you let these kids stay in your in for a while? You can just put it on my bill. I'll pay you once I get the allowance from this mission."

Kei nodded her head and obliged to do just as she was told. Once the three people were out of her view, she walked home in a slow pace. Once she got to her apartment, she immediately directed herself to the kitchen and checked the cupboards. While scanning the almost-empty cupboards, she remembered how Kakashi cooked for Sasuke and her when they took care of the remaining Uchiha. Tears rolled down her cheeks and onto the counter below her. She brushed off the thoughts and soon enough, she found a small pack of biscuits and stuffed it into her pocket before running off to the Hokage's tower.

* * *

The hazel eyed blond simply stared at the files scattered in front of her. It made no sense. It was no use. She couldn't concentrate on decoding the letter. She had a lot of things she had in mind and this letter, she thought, would be the least of her problems. She had spent the last hour trying to decode this letter on her own, trying to rub it in Shizune's face that the she could do her work as Godaime without anyone nagging her to do so, namely Shizune.

But right now, all she was worried about was the commotion at the hospital. She couldn't leave her office at all since she still had a lot of paperworks. But she really needed to know what was going on. She figured she could just check it out later so she went back to decoding the letter. That was when Sakura suddenly glided in through her window with a half-bitten biscuit in her hand. Finishing it off in one last bite, Sakura walked to the front of Tsunade's desk.

"Sakura, what are you doing here? I didn't get any reports from Kotetsu nor Izumo that you would be back today. How was the mission? Where is your team?"

She swallowed up all the bits and shortened the whole story. "Kakashi's in trouble." She said in a shaky voice and low voice, a voice that Tsunade had never heard from her before. "He's in trouble. He's in the hospital right now and they need you there. _He _needs you there. I know it!" She hung her head and slammed her palms on Tsunade's desk so hard, a crack traced one end to the other.

"Calm down Sakura."

She stood up and placed her hand on her student's shoulder. She was shaking. Badly. She heard sniffles and sobs coming from her apprentice and it almost brought her to tears. She didn't force Sakura to talk yet. She simply waited for her to speak on her own. The right time finally came when she talked in her shaky and cracking voice and that was when Tsunade pulled her hand away.

"He's still alive, I know it." She tried so hard to hide her emotions right now. She didn't want to cry while reporting to Tsunade but she couldn't hold back the tears. "While we were on our way here, he still had his pulse. I know it. He's still alive. But I know none of the doctors can help save him there. They don't have what you have... So please..." She knelt in front of the table and continued pleading. "I don't want to lose him just yet. I know I'm being selfish and I haven't done anything to ask you of this favor. I know I've done the smallest things for this village and I know I've broken the rules so many times. I would save him myself but I don't have enough chakra. So just this one time, Tsunade-shishou... Save him. He's one of the people I will always treasure..."

In one move, Tsunade was gone. She jumped out of the window, leaving behind her green coat hanging at the back of her chair. She left Sakura to cry in her room, all alone. Tsunade knew well it was hard for Sakura to let her see her tears. She also knew she needed some time to release her problems out of her system. She needed a lot of time, long story short. But only thing that bothered her was _how_ Sakura pleaded for her help. She was so desperate. Usually, she would have faith in the doctors even though both of them knew it would take some time before the doctor would come up with the correct solution. But this was different. This time, she wanted to be sure Kakashi would be saved... And at once.

She finally got to the hospital and the nurse directed her to the emergency room Kakashi had been brought in. When she opened the door, her jaw almost dropped. This was the worst condition she has ever seen him in. He was like... No. He _was_ a dying man. And she needed to do something fast.

_I don't want to lose him just yet_. The Godaime's eyes snapped wide all of a sudden. He had told her, hadn't he? _He's one of the people I will always treasure._ She pushed aside the other nurses and immediately removed Kakashi's jacket from his body. She used her charkra to cut the thin blue fabric that clung on Kakashi's chest like a second skin. Once she had sliced a small line on his suit, she opened the suit and placed her hands on his bare chest. She injected her chakra into his system as soon as she got the chance and felt relieved to find out that his heartbeat steady. She was glad to know that she wasn't about to lose one of the most loyal people to her... But mostly, she was glad her student wasn't going to lose him as she feared.

"He's alive. He's safe from death. Everyone, gather around! I'll tell you all what to do."

* * *

She knocked three times on the door but no one bothered to answer. Shizune figured no one was there so she turned to walk away from Tsunade's office. But there was a sudden change of plans when she had heard sobs and sniffles coming from inside her office. She rushed to check on the Godaime but instead, she found Sakura kneeling in front of the Hokage's desk, one of her hands clinging on its end and the other covered her mouth to supress the sobs from causing escaping her throat.

Racing to Sakura's side, she rubbed the pink-haired woman's back with her hand.

"Sakura, what are you still doing here?" No response. "Sakura, let it out. Don't hold it in. It'll be bad for your breathing later on." She continued to rub Sakura's back. "Come on, Sakura. I'll take you home." Sakura didn't move at all. She was just kneeling there, still crying and she refused to face Shizune and the older woman knew why. "Come on. It's alright to cry once in a while, especially for you. You've done a lot to help out and whatever happened to make you cry like this... You don't deserve this... So it's okay." She helped Sakura get to her feet. "Let's take you home already."

"Shizune..." She whispered. The older kunoichi looked at her with a concerned expression but Sakura gave her a faint smile telling her she'd be okay. "Thanks." And with those words, she felt her fatigue consuming her up and suddenly fell into a deep sleep.

Hearing that one word from her mouth made her heart warm and soft. She didn't know why, though. But she knew that if this kunoichi in her arms was able to do that to her, she could soften the heart of any shinobi.

She carried Sakura to her apartment piggyback style. Searching for her keys in the pockets of her apron, she had located it in her back pocket. With the weight of Sakura on her back, she had a hard time opening the door but she managed to do so in a few minutes. She lay Sakura on her bed gently and tucked her under the covers. She was about to leave when she finally sensed another person's presence. She wasn't alone all along. Someone had gotten there before she and Sakura did.

Since the lights were all turned off and the windows in her living room were all covered by the curtains, the only thing she could see was a silhouette of a man as tall as her sitting on the couch casually. His arms were crossed against his chest and he had his legs stretched out on the coffee table in front of him, one over the other.

"What are you doing here, Uchiha-san?" She asked, turning away from the dark man to exit the room.

The man in the shadows simply smirked to himself before muttering his answer. "I sensed Sakura's presence not long ago so I decided to check it out. I went through the kitchen windows earlier but when I got here, it was too late. But the cupboard's knob was warm and I figured she just took off. And then I spotted a small puddle of water on the counter below the latest touched cupboard and I knew she was crying before she left. So I waited for her because I knew someone would find her crying out there and bring her back home. As simple as that."

The woman was amazed he came up with the exact theory. She had to give him credit for that some other time.

"Why are you even worried about her?" She reached out for the knob of the main door and gripped it tightly.

Sasuke's smug expression suddenly turned into an unpleasant scowl. "Well, she did a whole lot better in taking care of me than Ino and Aburame. I had to repay her sometime. When she and Kakashi were the ones taking care of me, everything was under control. But when Shino and that Ino took over, my house became a wreck. I've had more stress than rest just by fixing up all the damages they caused in my house. I'm doing this for both Kakashi and Sakura."

"How does Kakashi fit in to all of this? What's his part?"

"Because if he were to be conscious and found out that Sakura had been crying her eyes out and on the verge of passing out, he would have asked someone to take care of her for him." He said as if it was the most obvious thing he had said in their entire exchange of words.

"Why not just try and take care of her himself?"

"Why? Because to him, the right thing to do is set aside his feelings for her and avoid her as much as much as he can. Although everyone votes against it. They all want him to tell her but he's too paranoid about it, telling his friends that the village won't accept it nor allow it at all." He scoffed. "It's him who won't accept it."

Shizune and Sasuke exchanged blank expressions at each other. Sasuke waited for Shizune's blank face turn into some sort of reaction. And as if on cue, Shizune's eyes snapped as she glanced back to the direction of Sakura's room. So the rumors that had been spread around for the past month was true? He _did_ have feelings for the young kunoichi and he refused to admit it.

"I have to discuss this with Tsunade-sama." She rushed to the door but Sasuke's words put her to a halt.

"Don't worry about it. The old lady knows about it. Kakashi's in the hospital right now, being healed by Tsunade. And when he gets out of the hospital, she'll surely give him and Sakura sometime to talk about whatever happened in their mission, which I doubt is _nothing_."

Shizune gave him a final nod before walking out of Sakura's apartment, leaving behind an Uchiha who finally cut the tough guy act. His face turned soft when Shizune shut the door behind her. Getting to his feet, he let himself enter Sakura's bedroom and sat on the side of her bed, just right beside her. She brushed away a stray strand of hair away from her face and studied her for a minute.

Her face was messy and she had dark circled under her eyes, obviously from running all night just to get Kakashi here as soon as she could. She was thinner before she had left and it had worried him that the mission might have been too hard for her. But then he asked himself; since when did he care about Sakura's mission or how hard it was? Since when did he pay close attention to her like he did now? Maybe it's because she was there even though he said he didn't need her. She waited and waited through all those years for him to come back and maybe she was the best example of a friend, second to Naruto.

When he came back to Konoha, Sakura took the opportunity she saw to talk to him about what had happened between the two of them. Both he and Sakura knew and agreed that the so-called _love_ she felt for him years ago was just a simple crush. Even she admitted it to herself. So they agreed that both she and Sasuke would just stay friends but Sasuke declined the offer. He had told her on the spot that he had no intention of being friends with her nor Naruto or anyone else. And she accepted that answer. She swore that day that if ever Sasuke changed his mind, she and Naruto would be right there waiting for him.

And now, he wanted to take up that offer-_her_ offer, at least. He'd been stupid. This girl could be the perfect female peer he could ever have in his whole life. In fact, he even regretted not having a crush on her when they were still Genin. Now, his sensei had beaten him to it. But it was okay. He didn't deserve someone as good as her, he knew. But someone like Kakashi, who never gave enough credit for what he does for the village like Sakura does to herself, he knew he deserved her and she deserved him as well. They were perfect for each other.

He didn't know how long he had been sitting there just staring at her peaceful expression, but soon he noticed that Sakura's face stirred up an expression he couldn't read. Her eyes slowly fluttered open and she took in her surroundings. It was dark so it was hard to see but by the smell of the sheets she had been tucked into, she knew it was her house. But some other scent invaded the bed's cherry-vanilla fragrance. It was masculine and somehow, heavy. And then she felt a pair of eyes burning a hole through her head.

Her instincts took over and she propped herself onto her elbow to check the intruder. She couldn't see his face clearly. Whether it was dark or whether because she was still tired, she wasn't sure. But she knew to whom that familiar silhouette belonged to.

"Sasuke...kun?" She asked hazily as she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. "What are you..." The rest of the sentence had gone into the yawn she released.

She felt heavy but soft hands on her back, rubbing up and down. "Shh. Get some rest, Sakura. Shizune told me to take care of you this time. I'll get something for you to eat."

"What time is it..?" Groaned the kunoichi.

"It's almost noon, I guess." He shrugged. "Somewhere to go?" She only nodded at him. "If you're going to the hospital to visit Kakashi, I suggest you do it later. By the feel of the chakra, I'm guessing Tsunade isn't done with him just yet. Now get some rest. I'll be out for your food. Stay here."

She didn't want to admit it but she knew he was right. And right now, a nice nap would do fine for her. She slumped back onto the mattress of the bed and pulled the covers up to her neck. Sasuke smiled at her and walked out of her apartment to look for food she would eat. He didn't feel like cooking today, mostly because Sakura's cupboards were almost empty and he didn't want to do her groceries for her.

* * *

One more second... Done! That was it! She was done healing Kakashi! She almost jumped for joy when she realized she was done. It took a lot of chakra and time but she was just glad to have saved his life, mostly happy for Sakura.

"Everyone, good job. I'm proud of you all. Everyone in this emergency room get some rest. We've used up a lot of chakra today." She clapped her hands and everyone moved away from Kakashi's bed.

As soon as everyone left Tsunade alone with Kakashi in the emergency room, she sat on the couch on the opposite side of the silent room. The only thing to be heard was heart monitor's beeping, indicating Kakashi's rhythmic heartrate, and the noise coming from outside. She took in deep breaths to finally relax herself after several hours of healing the Copy Nin. But the relaxation had been called off when her personal secretary entered the E.R.

She glanced at the groggy-looking Hokage who sat quietly in the other side of the room before turning her attention to the man who lay unconsious before the both o them.

"When will he..?"

"It should be soon, Shizune. It's possible that before we leave this room, he should wake up. Why are you even here?" Shizune apologized to the Godaime for suddenly appearing but she had told her what happened with Sakura and Sasuke over the past hours. "I see, so not even the Uchiha is as carefree as we thought he was. He is aware that this man has feelings for my student, am I correct?" Shizune gave her a single nod. "And the Uchiha? He somehow, now, cares for Sakura?" The same response as before. Tsunade smirked at herself and shook her head. "What does that girl have that changes the people around her?"

"She's not a girl, anymore, Tsunade-sama. We both know that." A masculine voice suddenly interrupted. Both women focused on the Copy Nin who had propped himself on his elbows.

Tsunade stood from her feet and walked to the front of Kakashi's bed. "Right on time, Hatake Kakashi." The silver haired man tried to move from the bed but Tsunade warned him. "I told Shizune you'd be awake today but you won't be out of the hospital for at least a week or two. Stay put and I'll have you transferred to another room soon. I still have to decode this message from Hidden Grass."

"Can't I just be sent home and have some medic nurse me back to health?"

The big breasted lady shook her her head firmly. "No. Unless you want to be taken care of at home by Sakura, that is." The unreadable expression of his eyes suddenly turned to something else. "Don't worry, Hatake. Sakura is safe and being looked after by none other than our own Uchiha Sasuke. Now, if you excuse me, I still have a letter to decode."

Shizune brought our a scroll from one of her pockets and handed it to Tsunade. The blond woman's face practically grew red of both embarrassment and anger. Embarrassment because she failed to show Shizune she could do her job without her personal assistant nagging her to do so and anger because she knew Shizune would be the one to rub this on her face.

"Naruto's still at Hidden Grass, fighting Haru alongside Fuyushi and Honda Kintora. According to Akiha-senpai, Naruto isn't at all taking any damages... So far. But he _is_ the one causing them."

Seriously, to Tsunade, Naruto was a pain in the wallet. Boy, would she have to pay Hidden Grass for the repairs of the structural damage he had caused there. And with that, Tsunade stormed out of the E.R. and went to her office, leaving Shizune and Kakashi by themselves in the almost-silent room. Once they could no longer feel Tsunade's presence, Shizune turned to sit on the edge of Kakashi's bed.

She asked in hushed tones, though loud enough for Kakashi to hear. "So you really were in love, huh? Who would have thought? And with your student, no less, Kakashi. I've gotta say, of all the rules you've broken, this has to be the worst." Giving him a reassuring smile, she continued. "I'm proud of you Kakashi. You've finally learned to put heart over mind. Have you told her yet?" He didn't respond. With his head tilted back, he stared at the ceilings of the E.R. "Well you should have. I'm sure she'll appreciate someone like you. And even come to _love_ someone like you. I'm happy for the both of-" The rest of the sentence had gone since the Copy Nin cut her off.

"No." He interrupted, shaking his head firmly. "Nothing's going to happen between the two of us. I'm sure of it." He lifted his head to look at the heart monitor on the table beside him. It was worse than he had thought. His heartrate was perfect. "After I'm let out of the hospital, I think I'm going to resign as shinobi and go to a very far place from here. I'm too old for this kind of thing. I'm not that good in facing enemies as I was back then."

Shizune gave him a smug look. Obviously, the Copy Nin had hit his head on something before he was brought here. "Is it the enemies that you're afraid of facing? Or is it Haruno Sakura?" Instead of responding, Kakashi used his energy to sit on the bed and fold one of his legs against his chest, resting one of his elbows on the knee. "Come on, Kakashi. I'm sure leaving the village behind is one of the last things you'd do. And if you did leave, I'm sure you would swipe Sakura away with you." The Copy Nin hung his head and finally, Shizune got fed up of his martyr-act. She knew the situation affected him more than he showed her right now. "Who are you trying to kid, Hatake Kakashi? You may one of the best ninjas but you're no actor. Any person can see through your act. Anyone can see that you get hurt whenever you think about what the village might say about what you feel for Sakura."

Whatever Kakashi had to say was lost when a series of knocks were heard. Soon, the door opened and a medic peeked in the room to inform them that Kakashi would be transferred to his room soon and left after the announcement.

"Well, Kakashi, it'll be a week or two before they let you out of the hospital so stay put. I'm sure Tsunade-sama will have you put under 24/7 surveillance, surely." She jumped off the bed and exited the room hastily.

Kakashi, now all alone, had been given enough time to think. He hated this. He hated himself. Why? Because even one of the people he interacted the least with could read him. Shizune had read his heart flawlessly, which meant his martyr-act was so obvious. How could someone like her read that? How could anyone read him so easily? Was Sakura able to do that? What if she had? What if she didn't? _Gods, help me. I'm in deep shit._ He thought to himself as he slumped back to his bed in a lazy manner.

Later, the door suddenly clicked and he checked to see who it was and found a dark, handsome young man walking toward his bed with an unreadable expression and a brown paper bag in his hands.

"You sure got yourself into some problem, Kakashi." Chuckled Sasuke. "I doubt things will be easy for you once you get out of the hospital. And from my point of view, you seem to already have suffered in here."

Kakashi narrowed his mismatched eyes at the Uchiha before interrogating. "What are you even doing here, Sasuke? Aren't you supposed to be taking care of Sakura? How is she? Is she fine? Safe?"

Sasuke chuckled to himself, supressing the real laughs from coming out. It had been the first time he's seen Kakashi with such troubled eyes. Eyes that teared up from worry and fright. "Don't worry, she's resting in her apartment. You've got any message for her before I go back?" He smirked.

* * *

She shuffled to get off her bed and directed herself to the bathroom. Once she had locked the door behind her, she appraoched the sink and clutched the edge in her hands as she looked at her reflection on the mirror hanging above it. She looked like some lost traveller in the desert who hasn't found an oasis in years. As she pondered on the thought, she opened the faucet and washed her face before wiping her wet face with a towel. Once done, she marched out of the bathroom and into the kitchen where she found Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun?" Before she could even ask what the hell he was doing in her kitchen, the scent of her favorite food had caught her attention. "You bought dango?" Sasuke _mm-hmm'ed_ in response. She was almost speechless. He had never done that for her before. "Thanks."

Sasuke was a whole lot silent than usual and it bothered her while she ate. With a stuffed mouth, she asked him what was wrong.

He pulled the chair accross her and sat down and had his pokerface on. "I need to talk to you. About Kakashi, I mean."

She suddenly lost the urge to finish the remaining dango on her plate. "What is it?"

"I know." Tilting her head slightly, Sasuke got the idea that she was lost. "I mean I know how he _feels_ about you. And that's why I'm here. He's in the hospital right now and he's regained consciousness, thanks to the old lady. I passed by there earlier and he told me he wanted to speak with you."

She was completely lost. She was so sure speaking with her was the last thing Kakashi had wanted to do. Or maybe it was the last thing _she_ wanted to do. Either way, she didn't feel like going, mostly because she was afraid he would bring up what happened before he fell unconscious. _Of course he'd bring that up!_ She reminded herself. There was no helping it. She rose from her seat and was about to exit the kitchen when she turned back to Sasuke again and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you, Sasuke, for taking care of me for the time being. You're a great friend... Even though you've betrayed Konoha like the revenge-obsessed bastard you are."

"Back at you." He merely chuckled.

* * *

He could feel her chakra closing in. Okay, he had to calm himself down. If he was going to tell her this, he had to tell her right. And when she finally swooped in from the window, he shuffled to half-sit on his bed, letting the covers fall to his waist.

"What did you want to talk about?" She was smiling... And underneath his mask, he couldn't help but smile too. Although, she didn't really know herself why she was smiling. Maybe because she was relieved to find out he was okay?

The mood suddenly dropped when Kakashi reminded himself why he had asked Sasuke to bring her here. He suddenly spoke in a stern and hair-raising way. "Forget it." Sakura's smile suddenly faded away by the sound of his voice. "Forget what happened during the mission. Forget what happened in the elevator. Forget that last request. Forget everything!" When he realized he was already shouting, he sighed and collected back his calmness. "Sakura, for two weeks, I'll be confined in this hospital. So listen carefully: this is the last time you'll visit me. In fact, this will be the last time we will ever talk ever so casual unless necessary."

"What are you saying?" She said, her voice almost cracking.

"That we should avoid each other from now on. We'll do our best to not run into each other in the village when I get out. Even if we do, we'll try our best to pretend to not know each other. That's what I'm saying, Sakura. What I did was wrong and I only did it because I thought I would die already. I didn't want to face this. I didn't want to live to face the unecessary moments we've had."

"Well you should have thought of that before you put me through them!" She snapped all of a sudden. Here she was, excited about finally having the chance to talk to him and he pushes her away? Something _had_ to snap and something _did_. "Are you saying I went through all of that for something that you didn't want to happen? I did my best to bring you back here as fast as I could just to ask Tsunade to heal you for... For surely positive results! I pushed harder than I could just to bring you back to Konoha! And now you tell me that you don't want to live? You don't want to face all those moments we had and you don't want to face me, is that why you wanted to die?

"You could have just told me, Kakashi! I would have killed you myself! Or maybe I would have killed myself!" She felt her cheeks become damp and realized she had already been crying. She turned to face the window and was ready to jump out but made a confession first. "I'll go and do as you wish... But before I do, I just want to let you know this little piece of information with I doubt you'd find interesting." She sighed and resumed speaking. "After that kiss, when you fell unconscious, that was the first time I have ever felt so scared about losing someone in my entire life. After that kiss, the _real_ torture began. Kakashi, I...

"I fell in love with you after that kiss. It wasn't just because of your request... It was everything! From teasing and taunting me, for being there when I really needed someone. You were the only other person, besides Naruto, who never failed to show up during my birthday... Everything. And now, it's just hard to believe that after making me fall for you, you'd want to die and leave me hanging all by myself. After making me fall, you're not going to be there to catch me?" She turned to Kakashi with a glare from her swollen eyes and finished her statement.

"You're a ninja and you follow the rules, I know that. But you're the one who said that whoever would abandon their friends are worse than rule-breaking bitches! But why? Why were you even thinking about abandoning one of your comrades? I know I must sound selfish but you said it yourself. And I never abandoned you, Kakashi! Even though my efforts could have been for nothing, they weren't! You're still here and I didn't leave you. Kakashi, why abandon me? Especially now that I've-" She prevented herself from finishing the sentence and bid him goodbye. "So I guess this is goodbye. See you at the Hokage's mansion in a few weeks."

And with those final words, Sakura jumped out of the window and hit the rooftops, leaving Kakashi alone again in his new room. Or so would it have seemed.

"Aren't you a sneaky little fellow, huh, Sasuke?" Kakashi mumbled. "She might get into a little trouble. Don't you intend on following her?"

Sasuke jumped in from the window Sakura had just jumped out of and faced the Copy Nin with a very much scary look on his face.

"Don't _you_?"

He shook his head. "No. This is how I want everything to be from now on. The more we avoid each other, the faster she'll forget about those _feelings_. She deserves someone better, anyway."

"Do you think this is the right road to go? She's in love with you, Kakashi. How could you be so cold on her?"

"Says the man who rejected her years ago."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I clearly admit I regret it!" This man clearly didn't want to answer his question. "So you think this is the right way to go? You're concerned about her, I can see that. But you think by hurting her and making her forget about you can really help her? You think she'll move on after a few and find happiness one day without you?"

"That's how it's supposed to work."

"I'm not the type who usually butts in into these matters... But what if it doesn't work out the way you planned it?" A low, but still feminine voice came from behind, followed up by a click of the door. The Hokage stood by the door, her arms crossed against her chest. "What if she doesn't move on, huh? What if she just kept on grieving for the rest of her life just for you?

"Kakashi, Sakura had cried her whole heart in front of me just to get me to heal you. She wanted to make sure you were alive. She wanted to be sure you were safe from harm's way. She begged me to heal you with the remaining energy she had from the long travel. Is that how you treat a comrade? By throwing all their efforts away? Kakashi, of all people, _you_ should know the meaning of companionship and hard work. And Shizune told me you learned to take heart over mind..." She scoffed. "What a load of trash that is."

"If that's what you think of me right now, then trash it is."

Sasuke couldn't take anymore of the drama in the room so he turned to the door and left the room. Tsunade didn't want to hear more from the Copy Nin as well. This wasn't like him at all. And so, with one last glare, she turned to the door and followed after Sasuke to ask about Sakura's condition.

He was halfway out of the main entrance of the hospital when he had heard the loud clicking of Tsunade's heels right behind him.

"Sasuke! How's my student?"

"I'm sure she feels no better than Kakashi does right now. He'd said a lot of things she never expected, huh?" Sasuke said, continuing to walk away from the hospital. He had heard Tsunade say something about taking care of Sakura while she would inquire information on Naruto and the mission from Hidden Grass but he ignored it. He just went straight to the one place he knew Sakura would be if she was depressed.

* * *

"Forehead!" A girl cried from somewhere around. Although it could be some sort of illusion or hallucination from all the alcohol and she couldn't tell with the loud music surrounding her. Finally, she spotted a blond girl running to her with open arms. Once in reach, she pulled Sakura from behind into her bone-crushing hug. "What happened during the mission? Is everything alright? You look kind of... broken." That was some way to put it.

Sakura pulled away and went back to her high-chair and settled herself in front of the counter, sipping on her cup of sake. Ino shuffled to sit beside her and asked again but the cherry-girl only shook her head firmly in response. "Nothing went right. Naruto's still there and I'm worried about the idiot."

Ino signalled the bartender to serve her a cup and turned her chair to face her best friend. "Well, he's Naruto. He'll pull through. He always does." She let her hand land on Sakura's back. The medic lifted her head to look at Ino who was now giving her a smile of sympathy. She reciprocated it with a weak one. "Well then, moving on. Looks like you're doing good so I don't need to ask. How's Kakashi?"

Sakura's smile quickly dropped into a scowl and jerked her head to look across the counter. She took another sip of the cup and realized it was almost empty. When the bartender served Ino her cup, she gave him hers for a refill. She didn't want to answer her question. In fact, she didn't want to talk about Kakashi at all and Ino quickly caught up.

"What happened?" Ino asked flatly. With a sigh, Sakura shook her head in frustration. "Come on, Sakura. I'm sure it's not that bad. What did he do?"

"He wants me to forget about everything that's happened." Blinking in confusion, Sakura was forced to explain everything that had happened during the mission. "Ino, I hope you don't tell anyone..."

"Never knew he'd tell you someday." Chuckled the blond. Sakura suddenly looked at Ino in astonishment and Ino knew she had just given a hint of something that was yet to be known and Sakura wasn't stupid not to get what she had just said. "He didn't tell you, did he?"

By the way the blond had said it, she knew what this was all about but she had to make sure. "Told me what?"

Ino took Sakura's cup and set it aside with hers. "I want you to listen to me." Ino flatly said. "Do what you have to do and get that information out of him."

"Ino, what are you talking about?" Sakura made a disturbed look as she chuckled. She tried reaching for her cup but failed when Ino slapped her hand lightly.

Sakura quickly withdrew and gave Ino a look. "Forget the sake, Sakura." She clutched Sakura's arms tightly and shook her as if she was some mad woman. "Take it from someone who cares... Sure, forget about him... But at least find out why he wants you to do it. At least try and get it out of him. Trust me, it'll make everything better."

"Let's get you home, Sakura." A voice said from behind. Sakura and Ino turned to find Sasuke with a very much annoyed face. And from how he saw Sakura's face already at a darker tint than her hair, he guessed Sakura already had a few shots.

After convincing Sakura to be taken home, he and Ino did so. Ino dressed her up in her pajamas before leaving her apartment. Sakura lay in her bedroom while Sasuke stayed in her living room. It was going to be the longest 2 weeks of his life. He then heard sobs, like he had anticipated earlier.

Tsunade ordered him to look after her until she and Kakashi got the chance to talk properly and though it wasn't obvious, he was happy to oblige.

"Screw this..." Sakura whispered to herself. "Fuck this life." She took one of the pillows in her arms and squeezed it tightly, crying herself to sleep. She looked out the window. Wow, she thought it was already dark but it turns out that the sun was just about to set. Perfect metaphor. She thought the problems were already here... But she then realized that it wasn't even here. It was yet to start. And she wasn't really sure if she was ready to face these kind of... Emotional problems since the _Sasuke_ incident. But back then, she wasn't really in love.

Gods, life sucked. For her anyway. But what could she do? She couldn't just shut her door and lock herself away from her problems. She can't really stop the sun from going down, could she?

* * *

**Next Chapter! **So after everything that had happened, Kakashi led Sakura to a dead end and left her there. What could happen when Sakura finally gets over the grieving and makes up a plan? What could happen then? Will everything be the way they should be? And is it even a good thing? Whatever it is, it will all be in HLR's final chapter. I won't be giving a title for this chapter! It's a surprise, dedicated to all the readers! I love you all! Thanks for the support! And I'd like to thank my classmate, Eej, for supporting me! And Cynchick for inspiring me to write more fics!

**Randomly Speaking:** It'll be a long time until I get to do the last chapter. There's this periodical test in a few weeks so... I need to study for, like, 11 tests in one week! But it's fine. It'll keep everyone in suspense. Haha. Anyway, thanks again for supporting me! Love you all! KakaSaku forever! 3

**~niko7t4**


	10. Worth It

Aww! This is the final chapter for HLR. Goodbye to this. I really enjoyed writing this fic! Man, I am going to miss this! Anyway, here's the last chapter. Read it with love.

* * *

**His Last Request**

**Chapter 10 - Worth It****  
**

It's been half a week since Kakashi got out of the hospital but Sakura hadn't seen him since she dashed out of the hospital room, just as he requested. They never heard anything from each other. In fact, they thanked fate for _not_ letting them run into each other whenever they were leisurely walking in the middle of the streets of Konoha.

Naruto returned as well after a few days they came back. He would have come back sooner but the village just wouldn't let him go.

Sakura was now having lunch with Sasuke and Naruto at Ichiraku's. And for some reason, she's been in a bad mood since this morning. Every time either of her companions tried to talk to her, she'd reply with brief answers. She wasn't in the middle of her period or anything. But it just felt like something was wrong or going to go wrong today.

And just as she thought her mood couldn't get any worse, it did.

As she slurped on her soup, she heard a familiar voice in the background which made her freeze in mid-slurp.

Kakashi pushed the drapes of Ichiraku's shop with one hand to enter. His other hand supported his crane for his limp leg. He somehow busted it while he fought with Haru. Naruto needn't to turn his bar stool since he already sensed the chakra. So did the navy haired guy sitting on the other side of Sakura.

"Good afternoon, Kakashi-san!" Old man Teuchi greeted cheerfully as he wiped the counter with a damp rag. "You here for lunch?"

Sakura slowly put down her bowl and looked into it for a moment, listening to what Kakashi would have to say. Was he there to have lunch? If he was, then she would just gladly leave since she was done anyway. She was getting ready to jump off of her seat when she heard the Copy Nin's answer.

"No. Actually I was looking for someone." _Liar_, Sakura thought, trying to hold back the tears that were now welling up in her sea foam eyes. "Not here, I guess. Thanks anyway, Teuchi-san."

Before the older of the two could even answer, Kakashi already left. Naruto and Sasuke both looked at the girl in between them from the corner of their eyes. Both men could feel the dark aura all around her. Sasuke tried not to bother her but the blond had to open his loud mouth.

"Come on, Sakura! It's been silly for the past few days. This is the first time you ever got to taste Ichiraku's since Kakashi got out because you were too damn worried you'd run into him if you go far from your house!" He suddenly snapped. "The same thing with him. He makes me run and get his food for him or makes orders through the phone! You both are cowards. You know that right?"

Sakura was about to say something when she realized that what he had said was true. She let his insults slip by with a sigh. "I guess you're right. And I _do_ know that."

"Let me guess," Sasuke interrupted with an arrogant look on his face as he looked at the blond. "You're going to tell her how running away and being a coward doesn't solve anything... And how she should just face the music and go up to his face and talk to him like she should, right?"

The blond narrowed his eyes down at Sasuke. "Well, I _was_! But I think somebody else in this room took away my moment and explained it for me. Ain't that right, Sakura-chan?" Naruto made a pouty face as he put a hand on Sakura's back.

Without fail, Sakura managed to hold back her tears and turned to look at Naruto. When she saw his pathetically ridiculous expression, all she could do was laugh at him as much as her stomach could take.

Sasuke and Naruto simply exchanged satisfied looks. How long was it since they heard her laugh like that? It's only been a few weeks but it seemed like forever. They forgot how even her softest giggles could lighten up their day.

"Excuse me guys, I think I need to go home. I'll see you later at Bar Code, 'kay? Just like we planned." She hopped off of her seat and skipped out of the shop.

Sasuke's smile soon faded away for no reason, as usual. But this time, even Naruto's smile quickly disappeared as well as if he had realized something.

"What's with that look, claw face? Ate bad ramen?" Sasuke mocked, turning back to his food to finish it.

He sighed, his eyes drifting down to the floor of the shop. "I wonder if Kakashi misses this... Or maybe even thinks about it."

The darker of the two raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about all of a sudden?"

"The light feeling we get whenever we see Sakura laugh or just... Smile. Like she could brighten one's day." The Jinchuuriki boy turned his stool to look at Sasuke. "I'm sure, without a doubt, he's missing it right now but denying it to himself."

"Of course, he is. It's Kakashi we're talking about. Whatever rules he could have broken, he'll always feel bad for it later. He's a true ninja, Naruto. He's experienced more things than we have. He saw more, heard more... But I don't think he _felt _more." Naruto blinked in confusion thus, leaving Sasuke to the decision to explain further. "He's been doing things professionally since he started. Unlike us, we let our emotions get in the way. We know more when it comes to matters that relate to heart..." He paused to think about what he had just said and took it back. "Correction-_you _know more."

Naruto, still confused, just went back to eating his ramen. Once he had finished ahead of Sasuke, he looked at his empty plate. "I just wonder if Kakashi ever thought about what could happen if they could give each other a chance to try. Maybe then, Kakashi wouldn't be denying anything at all about her. He wouldn't deny the fact that he would think of her before he slept, that he did his best for her and that he wished that she was always with him."

Sasuke was now lost in the conversation. Neither of them understood what the other was saying. Now, look at where this weird conversation brought them to! He simply sighed and went back to Naruto's first and main point.

"I'm sure he _is_ thinking about her smiles right now. And you're probably right-he may be denying it as we speak."

* * *

"You're smiling again, Hatake." Kurenai pointed out. "Even though you're wearing that mask, I can see through it."

He, Asuma and Kurenai were currently in his apartment. For some reason, the three of them just thought about having a little get together. A bottle of sake was placed on the rug and all three of them sat around it.

Kakashi suddenly grabbed a pillow from his bed and placed it in front of him with a neutral expression on his face.

"What are you doing?" The female Jonin asked.

"You said you can see through my mask. I'm kind of worried about the rest of my clothes." Kurenai only gave him a look but Kakashi ignored it. "So, Asuma. How's Shikamaru?"

"Meh." He briefly replied before pinning his cigarrete in between his lips. "Still plays Shogi & Go with me from time to time. Although I must say, that kid really is a genius. Still can't beat him, can you believe that?"

"I can." Kurenai replied. The son of the Sandaime raised a brow. "Come on, Asuma. You can't even beat Kakashi at chess!"

Asuma simply shrugged. Another moment of silence fell upon the three of them. Realizing the window had been closed while he took his cigarette all this time, Asuma crossed the room to open it. He slid the panel up and looked down on the almost empty street.

_Almost_ empty because Sakura was walking by, already passing by Kakashi's window.

"Well, would you look at that? I guess the little flower hasn't stopped thinking about that bee that landed on her once." He didn't turn to look at Kakashi nor Kurenai but he got this feeling that neither of them understood what he had just said. "Looks like she's thinking about talking to you, Kakashi-senpai."

Kakashi wasn't surprised. Even _he_ was thinking about working this out with her. In fact, the reason he stopped by Ichiraku was to see if Sakura had moved past the whole issue about being sent out of his hospital room. I mean, who wouldn't feel that chakra of hers? It was seeping out of the shop with rage but at the same time, loneliness-it was impossible to ignore. However, the way she didn't acknowledge his presence at all, he knew she was still bitter from the whole thing. He even sensed Sakura's chakra grow restless when he had arrived. He knew she wanted to punch him in the face so bad.

"It wouldn't go anywhere, Asuma. Nothing will. I am a shinobi. I live to kill. I've killed more people than I can count. I've killed more times than those I have saved. Unlike her... She helps people. She _actually_ saves them. We don't belong together. And if you take the rules into consideration, we never will be."

"Rules?" Kurenai scoffed. "Kakashi, you broke a rule to save your teammate once. And now, here you are, talking about how you should back away from the woman you love all because of some rule!"

Kakashi, although remaining silent, knew where this was going. Like any other conversation, it would end up with them trying to convince him to talk this out with Sakura.

"The only thing that gets in between the both of you are the rules! Rules were just made for us to follow, so we won't do anything we could regret later on! But what if we put those rules out of question. What if we set aside your student-teacher relationship with Sakura? Take away the fact that we are shinobis who could die any minute?" Kurenai made hand gestures to prove her point. "What do we have then?"

Asuma looked at Kakashi from the corner of his eye and answered the question for him. "Two ordinary people who have the right to do anything."

"Including falling for each other." The raven haired woman finished.

Kakashi still wasn't convinced. "I don't know what to do anymore." He whispered. "It's just as you said. Rules were made so we won't do anything that will be regretted later on. Yeah, I broke the rules several times. But this is... What if we give it a try and it doesn't work out?"

"Well, you'll just have to accept it. At least you two can say you gave it a shot." Asuma interrupted.

Both of the Copy Nin's companions looked at him as he stared into his cup of sake. God, how he wanted to drown himself but he knew this kind of sake wouldn't get him near drunk.

"Think about it this way, Kakashi: Is Haruno Sakura worth the risk?" As Kurenai asked the question, somebody knocked on Kakashi's door.

The feminine ninja rose from her position and opened the door. There stood two ANBU members.

"Yuhi Kurenai. Sarutobi Asuma. Report to Tsunade-sama, A.S.A.P."

The ANBU immediately left the doorstep. Kurenai turned around to call Asuma but it seems he already knew since he was making his way to the door already. Both of them bid Kakashi goodbye before leaving his apartment.

Now, he was left to sort things out for himself. All in all, he hadn't seen her until this afternoon. As he had expected, she was too consumed by the recent events to even notice his chakra. If she had noticed it, she wouldn't have been there when he entered Ichiraku's.

There was only one person whom he could turn to right now. One person he trusted the most and taught him the most important lesson that he could ever learn in his entire life.

* * *

He stuck his free hand in his pocket as he looked down on the Memorial Stone. "Obito, I'm so confused. The last time I felt like this..." He forced a smile upon his face. "...was our last mission together. It's happening again. What do you think I should do?"

He remained silent for a long moment, shutting his eyes to concentrate. "Give me a sign, Obito." He tried searching for any hint of signs Obito may have given him but no luck. With a sigh, Kakashi opened his eyes once again and looked to the Memorial Stone.

"I know you've been great help to me most of the time... But you can really be a jerk sometimes, you know that?" He said, laughing on his own. Obito hadn't given him a clue on what to do this time. And the Copy Nin himself knew what Obito was trying to say. "I guess it's all up to me to make up my mind this time, huh?"

He looked to the sky, surprised to see it was already golden at one end. He walked towards the direction of the source of the golden light. The light led him to the bridge were Team 7 usually met up during the Genin days. And to his surprise, a familiar silhouette was actually walking toward the bridge as well, looking at the sky as he did earlier.

The silhouette suddenly cleared up and he recognized the coral locks... It was Sakura. Surely, it wasn't coincidence they were both following the direction of the golden light.

Sakura felt her neck sore so she straightened it out only to find Kakashi standing on one end of the bridge while she stood on the other. He still had his crane from earlier.

Both exchanged indifferent glances at each other for a long minute until one of the broke the silence.

"I was thinking about-" Kakashi was cut off.

Sakura knew what he had to say. "Me too." She let her hand land on the hand rail of the bridge. "You're right. I _should_ forget about this. But at least tell me why, Kakashi." Her eyes broke their exchange of glances and looked at the setting sun.

The silver-haired Jonin sighed. "I was _wrong_." Sakura's head suddenly jerked back to look at him. "I shouldn't have told you that. I thought that if I abandoned you, you would think badly of me and try to forget me. Foolish, I was, Sakura."

"So what are you saying..?" She asked in a cold manner.

"I'm saying that I was foolish to think that something as childish as that would get you to forget me... And I was foolish to let someone like you go." He fell silent for a long moment and then spoke again. "I just thought you deserved someone better than a man like me and you _do_."

Sakura wanted to approach him but at the same time didn't want to. However, before she could even make up her mind, her feet seemed to have made its own decision. Slowly, she walked towards her former sensei and looked up to his masked face.

"That's what you thought." Her hand softly landed on his cheek, letting it rest there as she spoke. "I don't care if I _do_ deserve someone better. You should have known better. Try and push me away, I'll still end up following what my heart wants."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and tip-toed since he was too tall for her. He liked the feeling of her arms around her, of her body's warmth against him. All in all, he liked the feeling of her this close to him. He let his free hand land on her back and apologized once more.

"I really am sorry, Sakura." Kakashi whispered into her ear. "For everything."

She pulled away first and looked at Kakashi's... eye. "It's alright. Even I'm sorry, Don't know why, but I just feel sorry."

"Do you think it's worth taking the risk?" Kakashi suddenly asked. Sakura gave him a look of confusion. "If we ever take this road, do you think it's worth it? Is it worth risking our previous relationship as-"

"I don't care, Kakashi. I don't really give a damn if it's worth it or not." This time, she wrapped her arm around his torso and pushed her cheek against his chest. "I'm just glad it's all over... Even a few weeks can seem like forever."

He pulled away from her slightly and let his gloved hand cup her cheek. "I don't care either... But for sure, _you_ are going to be worth everything."

She smiled at him, removing her arms from his torso. She let her fingers land on the hem of his mask before pulling it down slowly and he didn't stop her. Gods, he was even more beautiful like this, there was no denying it. She couldn't help but take in the masculine features he had hidden behind his navy mask.

"Staring?" He cocked his head and raised a brow at her.

She suddenly snapped and cupped his flawless cheeks, letting her thumb run over the scar that passed through his eye. "Who wouldn't?" She chuckled. She was so happy that tears welled up in her eyes.

Before she could even say something, Kakashi pulled her in for a kiss, sweeter than the last one. She didn't feel the urge to resist and immediately gave in, closing her eyes. She let her fingers intwine at the back of his head as they kissed before the sunset.

No sooner, Kakashi pulled away, his lips still inches from the kunoichi's. He then kissed her forehead before letting his forehead make contact with hers. Sakura still had her eyes closed and she was panting heavily but with a grateful smile on her face. Gods, how he missed this.

"I love you, Sakura..." He whispered.

Sakura's sea foam eyes suddenly snapped at his words. Had she been hearing things? Was it all in her head? She suddenly pulled her head away but her fingers remained tangled, looking at him in confusion.

"What did you just say?" She asked.

Kakashi stubbornly shook his head. "I'm not saying it again until I hear what _you_ have to say."

The tears collected in her eyes suddenly rolled down her cheeks. She pulled him in for another quick kiss before hugging him tightly and sobbing. "I love you too, Kakashi."

He gave a satisfied smile to the sunset then gave Sakura's pink locks a kiss. He let go of his crane and hugged her with both arms. He never wanted to let her go.

Unfortunately, his leg still wasn't stable enough so he stumbled backwards and on his back, Sakura, with a scream, landing on him. She propped herself on her elbows and looked down on his beautiful face.

"You still need some rest, don't you know?" She chuckled.

She got up to her feet and helped Kakashi up and handed him his crane. "Nurse me back to health?"

Sakura just gave him a smile and nodded. She was more than happy to give him what he needed. Care and love.

* * *

"Ain't this a nice wedding reception," Shikamaru chuckled. "Right, Sakura?"

The pink haired kunoichi in her elegant white gown had to agree. It was a nice reception, thanks to her and Ino. Both of them planned the whole thing for Naruto and Hinata. It's been exactly a year since the whole incident at the bridge.

Naruto had been planning to propose to Hinata for a very long time but not a soul knew until he finally decided to do it. Although Hinata was about to faint, I think she found the strength to pull herself together and remain conscious.

Obviously, she accepted the proposal or what would this reception be?

But Sakura was worried. Kakashi was gone for a mission for the last 2 weeks and he hadn't contacted her once. Yes, they had taken the chance, Yes, it worked out fine. Yes, Konoha knew it would happen so they weren't really surprised. Although, they were happy for them. But right now, she was dateless in this whole party.

Temari approached Shikamaru and wrapped her arm around his. Yes, these two have been keeping a relationship under wraps longer than Naruto had been planning to propose! They only let the word go out after Naruto's engagement party.

"Hey, Sakura," Temari said, noting the depressing look on Sakura's face. "Why the long face?"

"Kakashi's still on his mission and I'm worried. Usually, he'd finish it up as fast as he could and run back home." She sighed. "This time, it's different. He's been gone for 2 weeks already and not a word from him."

Temari and Shikamaru looked at each other and exchanged smiles. "Don't worry," Shikamaru interrupted. "He's fine. That's for sure."

Sakura only gave them a forced smile and excused herself. She exited the venue of the party and started walking back home. If she had told Naruto she was already leaving, for sure, he was going to insist her on staying and she didn't feel like staying any longer.

She hadn't gotten far yet when she suddenly felt a hand grip her by the wrist and pull her back to where she came from. It was dark and the street lamp on that block was out.

"Where do you think you're going, babe?" The stranger asked... That's when she realized this man was no stranger.

She pulled away her hand and stopped herself from being dragged. The man stopped as well a few steps ahead of her. She rushed to hug the man and sobbed. "Bastard! I was worried about you! Where have you been?"

The man chuckled and hugged back. "Sorry I wasn't able to write or anything. Bastards took my pouch and all my clean scrolls were in there. I couldn't even write to the Godaime."

She released him and they walked leisurely back into the party. In the venue, Kakashi kept on complaining about how a suit can get very hot. Sakura spat back and told him that if he wasn't such a wuss about hiding his beautiful face from the world, then maybe he wouldn't be complaining at all.

To have the mask, he had to wear his whole navy blue suit underneath the suit and that's why he felt so hot.

Kakashi put an arm around Sakura's waist and pulled her close to him as they sat on a table in one corner.

"Happy Anniversary, babe." He whispered in a husky tone in her ear.

She looked up to him and kissed his masked lips. "Happy Anniversary to you too, hun."

Yes, it all worked out well. In fact, better than Kakashi had expected. On the other hand, Sakura wasn't expecting anything. She just took what fate had to give her. But all in all, both of them knew that taking that risk, though very dangerous, was worth it.

* * *

**THE END**

* * *

And that's the end to HLR. I'm sorry this chapter took so long. I had writer's block. I had to finish my original stories and what not.. And I had a hard time finding inspiration. And sometimes, I'm too lazy to type. I also had a hard time thinking of what can happen. A lot of confusing ideas popped into mind but in the end, I ended up going for this simple one.

I love you all! To all those who subscribed and favored and... just tuned in! Keep on tuning in to Naruto, 'kay? There are a lot of lessons to be learned there!

I'm going to work on my next fic called Serendipity. It's a surprise pairing although I know most don't really like the pairing. But still, an idea suddenly appeared out of the blue and I won't let it slip by.

Goodbye, His Last Request.


End file.
